The city of Albany kicked off its annual Alive at 5 concert series in grand fashion with Saratoga’s Let’s Be Leonard and funk from Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe on June 8. Leonard and Denson got the crowd going right from the beginning and launched the summer series properly.
Next week’s Alive at 5 has Victory Soul Orchestra along with Average White Band playing right at 5pm.
Brad Paisely kicked off Saratoga Performing Art Center’s (SPAC) summer concert series with a bang, bringing an all-star line up of guests. Paisley played his array of songs to a crowd of over 10,000. He brought his incredible guitar capabilities that left the crowd on their toes.
Country stars such as Dustin Lynch, Chase Bryant and Lindsay Ell supported Paisely on the tour giving the fans a bang for their buck. After Lindsay Ell ended her set, a huge storm made its way to the venue which then forced them to shut down all equipment and bring everyone on the lawn inside for shelter. After an hour delay, Chase Bryant quickly came on to get the crowd back on their feet.
Brad Paisely came on at SPAC shortly after 10 pm, playing his hit songs such as “Crushin’ It” and “Old Alabama.” Paisely then welcomed Dustin Lynch on stage to sing a duet for the song “I’m Still A Guy.” During that song, a fan was brought on stage to propose to his girlfriend and she said yes. Paisely was very happy with the first show of the tour telling the crowd, “I can’t tell you how much it means to be playing in a place where my favorite jam bands played for a bunch of stoners.”
The Nightmare Police are not waiting until their official June 9 release date to start touring in support of their new EP Losing the Light. The punk pop outfit from Long Island sets off on a tour of the Northeast this week, with stops in Mechanicville on May 28, Buffalo on May 29, and Smithtown on June 3.
The hometown tour closer at Katie’s of Smithtown, Long Island will also include performances by Check Engine Light, A Story Told, Gutterlife, and This Crooked Home.
The Nightmare Police create anthemic tunes packed with catchy choruses, rowdy guitar riffs, and driving beats. Members Ian Washington (guitar/ vocals), Joe Berti (bass/vocals) and Jesus Arancibia (drums) cite their influences as Blink 182, Fall Out Boy, and A Day to Remember. Losing the Light is their second EP, and was produced by Frank Laudicina and Brett Romnes. Head to Bandcamp to preorder the EP and to preview two singles, “Medicine Cabinet” and “Where Were You.”
Tour Dates:
5/26 – Mystic, CT – The German Club
5/27 – Boston, MA – TBA
5/28 – Mechanicville, NY – Our Place
5/29 – Buffalo, NY – Sugar City
5/31 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fire
6/1 – Baltimore, MD – The Sidebar
6/2 – Boonton, NJ – BoonTunes
6/3 – Smithtown, NY – Katie’s of Smithtown *
*with Check Engine Light, A Story Told, Gutterlife, and This Crooked Home
The electronic jam sounds of SOLARiS return to New York State this weekend with two big shows in Saratoga Springs and Brooklyn.
Saturday catch SOLARiS at Putnam Den in Saratoga Springs featuring Orchard Lounge DJ Ben Silver and on Sunday at Brooklyn Bowl featuring Wax Future and Polyvamp.
The all instrumental SOLARiS features a great deal of original music with a range of electronica including dubstep, drum n bass, jazz fusion and funk, all intertwined between drummer Daniel Scott Lyons, keyboardist Jared Raphel and bassist Vinny Naro. Naro shared his thoughts on the upcoming run:
“Expect a new and improved Solaris. We’re sounding surprisingly more polished these days, most likely from the result of the new sounds we’ve been developing and just simply being together as a band for 7 years. While there will always be the staple original songs, like “Vice” and “Nostromo,” there are some new covers as well; such as the “Stranger Things” TV theme, our new instrumental remix of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams,” and more. As always, we will also be doing our usual exploratory improv, finding new sounds, deep electronic grooves, etc… If you’re attending the shows this weekend, put your seatbelt on because it’s gonna be a very intense and funky ride.”
Every band was a local band once. Today, we launch NYS Music 87/90, reflecting the highways artists travel upon to reach markets across The Empire State. 87/90 brings together 8 New York State born and raised bands that have strong potential to make it big. We will bring news and coverage of these bands to you on a regular basis, highlighting what we see as the next wave of bands to come out of New York State. These are just the first wave of bands that we will be bringing to your attention – there are plenty more artists in every corner of the state from all genres. As we discover them, we’ll bring them to you and beyond.
The 8 artists we launch with include: Space Carnival, Cousin Earth, Formula 5, Folkfaces, Boogie Low, Intrepid Travelers, Let’s Be Leonard and Gowanus. These artists were selected for potential, work ethic and appeal to a wider audience. They include jam bands, bluegrass/folk, psychedelic rock, electronic and a mix of everything. We will expand in the future with bands that we see strong potential in – this is a select group we launch with and we will keep it reserved only for bands that pass muster.
The bands we are reaching out to as founding artists are bands that we have highlighted on our pages in recent years, see a strong future in and have shown that they are committed to making a name for themselves well outside of New York State. This is not an open invite – the initial roster includes only bands that are on the rise and have developed a following through their music.
Every band was once local.
Josh Carter has been traveling the world so much that he dreams of being on the road. “My girlfriend said to me the other day that I was sleep talking, and I was saying something about being in Singapore,” said Carter. “I’ve never been to Singapore.”
Give Carter and Sarah Barthel — better known as fast-rising alternative electronic pop group Phantogram — enough time and they may yet reach Singapore.
The duo from Greenwich recently wrapped up five months of constant touring in support of its new album, “Three,” with a series of East Coast club shows, including a sold-out show Saturday, January 14 at Upstate Concert Hall in Clifton Park.
“I used to go to Hatebreed shows at Northern Lights (what Upstate Concert Hall used to be called,)” said Carter in a phone interview from Los Angeles, where he now lives. “I was really into hardcore back then.”
There is a harder edge to Phantogram’s songs than when Carter and Barthel started out as Charlie Everywhere in 2007. The breathy vocals and electronic soundscapes featured in early songs such as “Mouthful of Diamonds” and “When I’m Small” have been replaced with big beats and in-your-face vocals, as found in more recent hits as “Black Out Days,” “Fall in Love” and “You Don’t Get Me High Anymore.”
Carter said the change to a more aggressive sound was fueled in part by audience reaction to the band’s shows early in their career.
“I can’t cite a specific moment, but I remember people saying to us, ‘I love the music, but I can’t understand any of your lyrics because they were so buried in the mix,’” said Carter. “So, I think it’s a combination of playing live shows and gaining confidence.”
Carter also said collaborating with other artists helped Phantogram grow. A guest appearance on Big Boi’s 2012 solo album Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors led to a full-blown side project with the Outkast rapper called Big Grams that led to an EP in 2015. Phantogram also appeared on The Flaming Lips’ tribute album to The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band — 2014’s With a Little Help from My Fwends — where Carter and Barthel tackled “She’s Leaving Home.”
“It’s been so much fun. It’s also been a learning experience,” said Carter. “Collaborating and playing music with others is always a good thing because you learn so much.”
Having the chance to work with Big Boi on Big Grams has been a dream for Phantogram, said Carter. “We were heavily influenced by Outkast. In fact, Sarah and I call ourselves Aquemini (a title of a 1998 Outkast album) because Sarah is an Aquarius, and I am a Gemini,” said Carter. “We loved Outkast because it seemed like the sky was the limit for them. They could do something like a gangsta rap on one song, and then they’d have this cheerlead-y pop song like ‘Hey Ya.’”
Phantogram’s own discography maps out the direction the band has been heading. Eyelid Movies in 2010 — their first release for indie label Barsuk Records — was an expansion of its self-released EP from the previous year, which included “Mouthful of Diamonds.” In 2011, they released the EP Nightlife, which saw the beginning of the band’s transition from shoegazing electronic music to more sample-heavy hooks, as found on “Don’t Move.”
A couple of years later, Phantogram moved to Republic Records — a division of Universal Music Group that features artists such as Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj and Drake, among others. The group’s first album for Republic, 2014’s Voices, brought their music to a more mainstream audience around the world. They started making regular appearances on such shows as “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and “The Late Show with David Letterman.”
Three marked another transition for Phantogram. The band exclusively worked with an outside producer for the first time, as Ricky Reed took the controls on the album. Outside songwriters including the-Dream and Tricky Stewart also collaborated on the album.
Reviewers had mixed feelings about Three, but Carter said the album is part of Phantogram’s continued growth.
“We’re not David Bowie. We’re not as brilliant as he,” said Carter. “But if we can have that one moment like David Bowie had with ‘The Thin White Duke’ and ‘Ziggy Stardust,’ that would be awesome.”
And as it edges closer to mainstream success, Phantogram is proving that a Capital District band can have an international following.
“I’m proud and happy to represent our home area,” said Carter. “It’s a testament that you don’t have to be from New York City or Los Angeles or Austin or San Francisco to be successful.”
This article was originally published by The Spot 518. is property of Spotlight Newspapers in Albany, N.Y., and appears as a special to NYS Music. TheSpot518 and NYS Music work in partnership to provide readers with in-depth coverage on the local music scene in the Capital District and New York state, respectively. For more, visit TheSpot518.com.
Capital Region jammers Formula 5 pulled out all the stops for their final All Points North album release party in Saratoga Springs in front of a full crowd of familiar faces and an exponentially growing fan base. After premiering the album in its entirety in New Haven with Relative Souls, the foursome decided to team up with the New Paltz-rooted The Other Brothers to serve up slices of true NY funk and soul on a Saturday night with a dirty laundry list of reasons to celebrate.
From 8pm-10pm, fans rolled through the Putnam Den doors to enjoy the likes of a free keg with The Other Brothers set slated to rock at 9 pm. With a 15-song set, the six-piece of Chris Owens (vocals), Brandon Bera (drums), Gabe Marquez (keys), John Morrison (Guitar), Jared Nelson (Percussion) and Jordan Mendelson (Bass) kicked off the night with their rock and roll origins, soulful captivation and soaring vocals. Having convened in 2012 at SUNY New Paltz, the group is in the midst of preparing their first studio album, Jones. Having played shows for a few years and acting as seasoned veterans on the Rock and Roll Resort lineup, it’s a bit surprising that they’re only releasing their first album. At the same time, it allows you to get in on the ground level and perhaps grow with a band you’ve never had the pleasure of seeing or listening to before.
From first impression, you could tell The Other Brothers’ sound and Owens’ powerhouse vocals provided a pleasing contrast to Formula 5 and what was to follow. As their set unraveled, each song found the front man, dressed in pale pink, rocking his hips back, forth and around town and further exploring his vault of dance moves. During a fun reggae-fusion tune, “These Cycles,” Owens’ charisma and onstage conversation demanded your attention–all that was left to do was listen and sway along with him. He often took the audience through anecdotes of how song titles came to be and strange one-off experiences that helped shape their musical contributions. It was hard not to keep your eyes locked on Nelson as his hands transitioned through tapping the congas and tossing a shaker, tambourine and rain stick for high points of the set, which also included Mendelson, sporting a Iron Maiden hockey jersey, impressively hitting quick tempo switches and odd time signatures on “Your Machine.” “Hit You Up” brought out the first guest of the night, Wavy Cunningham, to ease smooth tunes and a bit of rap into the set while the ending track of the night, “Levee for Free” had all fans on foot and Formula 5’s Joe Davis (also sporting pink) delivering tasty licks on guitar.
The eclectic group of six will open up for Vulfpeck’s Theo Katzman on April 19 at the famed Capitol Theatre in Portchester, NY. Looks like all is pointing North not only for Formula 5 but for these New Paltz natives as well.
The Other Brothers Set List:
Sleep Yo, Good Thing, The Man, Don’t Mean A Thing, Love Recedes, These Cycles, K2 in the Bathroom, New Friends, Can I Get It?, Why You Are, Hit You Up*, Game Show Radio, Your Machine, Bound, Levee for Free*
* Wavy Cunningham
$ Joe Davis from Formula 5 on guitar
After a short introduction from a sincerely grateful and proud band manager, Pete Mason, Formula 5 immediately launched into their double header with transcending energy and multicolored lights boasting “F” and “5” from the top corners of the stage.
set the tone for their Saturday night gig with kinetic energy that only kept building. While fans may have heard the newer tunes from recent gigs and even more recent album release teases, it was the first time listening to the entire album in a live setting, lending their ears to Formula 5’s natural creativity and improvisation. Bassist James Woods sported a slight smirk all night, which could be attributed to a number of things, but we’ll just pin it on the electric energy and a “load-off” feeling of finally offering the band’s new studio album to the world. The merch table was freshly stocked with musical material both new and old, freshly crafted Trout Waters pins and newly designed T-shirts available for longtime fans and those just discovering their music.
Having transformed a Kickstarter goal into reality, Joe, Matt, and James long awaited the night’s celebrations after pouring endless amounts of effort into their third studio album which follows their self titled debut album, April 2014’s Edging on Catastrophe and one live album, Live Five Vol. 1. The quartet implemented some classic strategies as well as newfound ways to draw a dancing crowd to their Putnam Den gig. Joe and Matt dedicated a few hours of their day to Albany’s own Madison Avenue Ben and Jerry’s shop on free cone day to dish out tasty frozen treats to Albany locals, hand out fliers for the album release show and spin their newest record to listening ears and the hungry humans attached to them–talk about a marketing triple threat.
Set one presented All Points North front to back, with friends Phil Chow on trumpet and Bryan Brundige of The Chronicles on trombone during “It Goes” paired with a loud exclamation of “I love horn-ula 5!” from the depths of the crowd. Not only did Brundige lend a helping horn on stage, he handles audio engineering at OverIt Media and aided the guys through their All Points North journey in the studio. A long set break brought set two, chock full of covers, a “Tweezer” tease and a loaded surprise sit in. Following a jam and “Booher’s Pass,” moe.’s own Vinnie Amico took to the drum kit during “Pedro” to sit in for the group’s drummer. The two seamlessly transitioned on and off stage while the drummer tried to use his surroundings to aid the beat to try and smoothly dip back behind the moe. veteran. Amico’s presence was unplanned, making the surprise sit in all the more sweet. The seasoned drummer happened to be hanging in the Saratoga venue before wandering into the back room and admitting he was a Formula 5 fan and excited to see their set. From there, an organic sit in blossomed to cap off an already exceptional night.
Next up was a double header of covers with Don Henley’s “Dirty Laundry” and Steely Dan’s “Hey Nineteen,” band and fan favorites alike. Appropriately closing out a night of well deserved festivities and completing a pretty solid song cover trifecta, the night was wrapped up into a funky package with a Phish phavorite, “Run Like An Antelope.” Keeping the momentum rolling the next day, the guys announced their participation at The Werk Out Music and Arts Festival alongside Dopapod, Emancipator, BIG Something, Spafford and more. They’ll keep the grooves going with a continued Spring 2017 tour as summertime bliss will bring Formula 5 tunes not only to the festival circuit but directly to phans during the Madison Square Garden Baker’s Dozen run.
Formula 5 Set List:
Set I: (“All Points North”)
Come Along, Sad Bed*, Trout Waters, Pt. I & II, It Goes…^, Excalibur, The Birch Tree^, Q&A, Do Tell^, Figure Out A Feeling^
Set II:
Jam -> Booher’s Pass, Pedro$, Dirty Laundry$, Hey Nineteen!
E: Run Like An Antelope~
*Unfinished
^ Phil Chow on trumpet, Bryan Brundige on Trombone
$ Unfinished, Vinnie Amico of Moe. on drums
$Don Henley cover
! Steely Dan cover
~ Phish cover
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.“
Originally hailing from Aukland, New Zealand but now residing in Los Angeles, USA, Gin Wigmore is known for her powerful vocals and melodies.
Listen to the interview with Gin Wigmore by Alexander Spinelli/Longbow Media/Recess with Spinelli:
Ms. Wigmore originally came to my attention while I was in London, England in 2012. While surfing the channels on the (in the local vernacular) “telly,” I stumbled on a James Bond, “Skyfall” commercial featuring Gin’s song, “Man Like That,” off here 2011 release “Gravel & Wine.” At this point, I was as Peter Pan may say, ‘hooked.’
Ms. Wigmore’s 2013 release, Blood to Bone lived-up to her reputation and in fact, ever solidified her growing American fanbase, with songs such as “Written in the Water” and “New Rush.”
Back in December, Gin came to Hollow Bar and Kitchen, in Albany, NY to a packed audience in support of her upcoming album and newly released, bold single “Mercy.”
I interviewed Ms. Wigmore ahead of the show, during which she speaks of her musical progression, move to California, the upcoming album and much more!
You can also listen to the full radio broadcast here:
Recess with Spinelli can be heard every Wednesday 8pm-10pm EDT on WSPN in Saratoga Springs, NY on 91.1FM and on Hoxton FM in London, England every Wednesday 11pm-1am GMT 6pm-8pm EDT
Follow Recess with Spinelli:
Instagram Twitter Facebook Youtube Soundcloud Mixcloud and online at longbowmedia.us
Fultonville, NY native and winner of NBC’s Season 8 of “The Voice,” young Sawyer Fredericks will be joining the stage with fellow local musicians The Sea the Sea, Girl Blue, Sandy McKnight and John Davidson for the 518 Songfest at The Egg in Albany, NY on April 1. interview
Back in November, Mr. Fredericks stopped by the WSPN radio studio on the Skidmore College campus for an interview and to perform several live songs and discuss life on the family farm, musical inspiration, experience on “The Voice” and much more.
You can listen to the full radio broadcast here:
Recess with Spinelli can be heard every Wednesday 8pm-10pm EDT on WSPN in Saratoga Springs, NY on 91.1FM and on Hoxton FM in London, England every Wednesday 11pm-1am GMT 6pm-8pm EDT
Follow Recess with Spinelli: Instagram Twitter Facebook Youtube Soundcloud Mixcloud and online at longbowmedia.us