North Country native and author Garret Woodward will give a reading and discuss his book “If You Can’t Play, Get Off the Stage” on Wednesday, December 27 at Champlain Meeting House in Champlain, NY, and on Thursday, December 28 at Nine Pin Cider, both starting at 6:30pm. Currently based in Asheville and serving as the Arts/Entertainment editor for The Smoky Mountain News, as well as music editor for Smoky Mountain Living magazine, Woodward published his debut book earlier this year to rave reviews.
Diving into the rich, vibrant and controversial history of bluegrass music, “If You Can’t Play, Get Off the Stage: Bluegrass in Western North Carolina and Beyond” features interviews, profiles, quotes and conversations with the biggest names in bluegrass, mountain and string music, including: Andy Hall (The Infamous Stringdusters), Balsam Range, Billy Strings, Bobby Osborne, Claire Lynch, Dave Johnston (Yonder Mountain String Band), David Grisman, David Holt, Del McCoury, Doyle Lawson, Eric Gibson, Frank Solivan, Graham Sharp (The Steep Canyon Rangers), Jeff Austin, Jesse McReynolds, John Cowan, Larry Sparks, Marty Stuart, Paul Hoffman (Greensky Bluegrass), Peter Rowan, Raymond Fairchild, Rhiannon Giddens, Rhonda Vincent, Ricky Skaggs, Ronnie Reno, Sam Bush, Tim O’Brien, and many more.
Born in Rouses Point, Woodward graduated from Quinnipiac University and then crisscrossed America for several years as a music journalist, covering backyard get-togethers and festivals like Burning Man, Rothbury, Grand Targhee, Outside Lands and Wakarusa. In 2015, Woodward won first place in the North Carolina Press Association awards for “Arts & Entertainment Reporting” for his cover story “Bless Your Heart — The State of Women in Bluegrass.” In 2016, Woodward was nominated for “Bluegrass Print/Media Person of the Year” by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA). The NCPA also recognized him with another first place in 2016 for “Lighter Columns” for his weekly column in The Smoky Mountain News, “This must be the place.”
On Nov. 12, Dark Star Orchestra traveled downstate from a show at the Palace Theater in Albany to Paramount Hudson Valley in Peekskill the next night to continue celebrating their 20th year of performing authentic Grateful Dead show replications. The saying “never miss a Sunday show” was once again validated by DSO’s stellar sets at the Paramount a day after the 20th anniversary of their first show in 1997.
A fun game for the audience at any DSO show is to take a guess as to what Grateful Dead show the band is covering (which they later reveal before their encore). Shortly after the start of the first set it was fairly easy to narrow the time frame to the late 1980s/early 19990s from the prominence of the keys and later the style of the drum break. DSO broke form slightly to perform a selective setlist in the style of a particular show which in this case was based on the stylings of 7-19-1990 at Deer Creek Music Center in Indiana. Even though the show wasn’t an exact replica of a Grateful Dead setlist, it showed DSO’s endowment for channeling a particular Grateful Dead style seamlessly through set substitutions to maintain the feel of a real Dead show.
Set 1 started with a quick recognition of “Jack Straw” and continued on with an easy groove through the set. The 1940s blues standard “It Hurts Me Too” anchored the first set with a remarkable feature of singer Lisa Mackey’s vocals. Rounding off the first set was “Deal,” starting off like any Grateful Dead performance of the song interlaced with plenty of noodling intricately replicated by Jeff Mattson (who replaced long-time DSO guitarist John Kadlecick in 2010). Like a firecracker on a short fuse Mattson’s noodling quickly went from its regular form to a fiery hot guitar jam before coming back around to a quick refrain of the chorus.
The second set was a bit more true to the Deer Creek show it was modeled after with just two song substitutions. True to a Grateful Dead second set the song run was continuous until the encore even with the contrast between some adjacent songs. Leading in from a “Playing In The Band” reprise, original DSO drummers Rob Koritz and Dino English gave the subtle hints about the drum break about to happen. Koritz and English began with a more structured duet between the two kits before loosening up to move around for a more improvised percussion break including some electronic drums (something Billy Kreutzman and Mickey Hart started incorporating in the late 1980s). While “Space” is what it is for some folks, it’s a good opportunity to zone in and hear something unexpected. The latter part of the second set capped off the show with a strong finish. A Spanish jam akin to Maurice Ravel’s 1928 composition “Bolero” (from which the music of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” was inspired) segued into a crescendo that progressed through “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” “Black Peter,” and “Not Fade Away.”
Keyboardist Rob Barraco took a few moments before the encore to explain a little bit of the setlist and to plug DSO’s four-night Jamaican excursion in January. The Dead’s 7-19-1990 show only included “U.S. Blues” but DSO took the opportunity to make it a perfect close to the show by adding on “Mr. Charlie.” With many unique and excellent Grateful Dead cover acts out there, Dark Star Orchestra has shown again their consistency in delivering a genuine Grateful Dead tribute.
Dark Star Orchestra, Paramount Hudson Valley, Peekskill, NY
Set 1: Jack Straw*, They Love Each Other*, Good Times Blues, Row Jimmy*, Blow Away, It Hurts Me Too, Althea* > Deal Set 2: Foolish Heart* > Playing In The Band* > China Doll* > Uncle John’s Band* > Playin’ Jam* > Drums* > Space* > Dear Mr. Fantasy > Black Peter* > Not Fade Away*
Encore: U.S. Blues*, Mister Charlie
* denotes songs from the Grateful Dead setlist
(Omissions from Grateful Dead 7-19-1990 setlist: Desolation Row, Picasso Moon, Promised Land, Victim or the Crime, All Along The Watchtower)
Check out a recording of this DSO show on archive.org.
How’d you do with our November picks Rochester? We were able to catch a few of our recommendations and thoroughly enjoyed each and everyone. We’re back with five more choice live music options to fill up your Rochester in December calendar so you can end the year strong. Check them out and let us know what you see.
Wednesday, December 6 lespecial @ Funk n Waffles Music Hall
First stop is Funk n Waffles for lespecial, a young electronic-infused trio carving out a name for themselves on the jam band circuit. Childhood friends, these guys have many years worth of connection to each other behind some otherworldly onstage communication. The music flips around furiously and often, keeping surprises around every corner. Is it rock? Or is it world? Is it punk? Or is it jazz? Is it funk? Or is it hip hop? The answer is yes.
Tuesday, December 12 The Black Lillies @ Abilene Bar and Lounge
The joint will be jumping when The Black Lillies return to Abilene. With a full-blooded country and blues rock sound, the old house will be struggling to contain it all. They’re a bit of a rotating cast behind frontman and multi-instrumentalist Cruz Contreras. The current lineup includes bassist and vocalist Sam Quinn, drummer Bowman Townsend, and guitarist/vocalist Dustin Schaefer. This might be the last chance you have to see them before Abilene needs to upgrade these guys to one of their “On the Road” destinations.
Friday, December 29 Hinkley @ Three Heads Brewing
Rochester’s own Hinkley will start the New Year weekend off at Three Heads. Nearing the 20 year mark as a band, they will have plenty of material to draw from, but will likely be favoring their fantastic brand new album, Peak of Light. Their sound hovers amongst the Wilcos and Death Cabs of the world; hints of Americana sand-blasted with more modern and experimental rock sounds.
Friday, December 29 Rubblebucket, Cuddle Magic @ Anthology
Rubblebucket has made Rochester a stop along their New Year’s tour for the past few years at least. There’s not a better time to see them than when you’re in the mood to celebrate. The afro-beat-based horn-infused dance happy music is perfect for a party and this year the party will be at Anthology. Even though it won’t quite be New Year’s Eve, they won’t skimp on the balloons, confetti and wild antics. No stranger to Rochester either, Cuddle Magic will open with their unusual instrumentation and fantastically lush baroque rock sounds.
Sunday, December 31 Easy Star All Stars, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad @ Anthology
Speaking of parties at Anthology, the next two nights they’ll be throwing the Forever Party to end 2017 on a dub note. It all starts on the 30th with John Brown’s Body,Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad and Thunderbody. JBB and GPGDS are both members of the reggae label, Easy Star Records. The label’s signature band, Easy Star All Stars, are known for recreating famous albums in their own image. On New Year’s Eve they’ll be presenting their spin on a Pink Floyd classic, playing through their Dub Side of the Moon album. That will be followed by another set by GPGDS. Should be a fun time!
Rochester welcomed back Finnish death metal band, Children Of Bodom on Sunday with their commemorative tour celebrating the release of their first album, Something Wild. The American leg of their 20 Years Down & Dirty Tour hit 24 for cities, Rochester being the last American stop before heading for Canada. Joining Children Of Bodom on tour were fellow Finnish Thrash Metal band, Lost Society and Carach Angren, a Black Metal band from the Netherlands along with Uncured, a Death Metal band from New York City.
This tour wasn’t one to miss, reaching both new and old Children Of Bodom fans, playing songs from their first three albums. The crowd showed diversity in sporting a variety of shirts, patches and attire, drawing in metalheads from as far as Albany and Syracuse to Anthology, a restored multi-level auto warehouse on East Avenue. While the crowd initially looked sparse and scattered before the show began as the evening progressed more people began filtering in, filling up the venue.
NYC’s own Progressive Death Metal four piece, Uncured kicked the night off. The band released it’s first full length album Medusa in March 2017.Uncured features brothers Zak and Rex Cox on guitars and vocals, Liam Manley on drums, and Jon Kita on bass.
Following Uncured were fellow Finns, Lost Society who unleashed their energy, keeping the crowd wanting. Hailing from Jyväskylä, Finland, the band consists of guitarist and lead vocalist Samy Elbanna, guitarist and backing vocalist Arttu Lesonen, bassist and backing vocalist Mirko Lehtinen, and drummer Ossi Paananen.
The third band, Carach Angren added an interesting and darker change in atmosphere and was met with an enthusiastic crowd. The band sported corpse paint, an interesting mic stand which included a spinal chord and hip bones, which the vocalist temporarily sporting a skull mask and crown for their set. Carach Angren is Dennis “Seregor” Droomers on vocals, Clemens “Ardek” Wijers on keyboard and Ivo “Namtar” Wijers on drums.
By the time the final and headlinging band, Children of Bodom, took the stage, the crowd was riled, ready and waiting. Frontman Alexi Laiho wasted no time adding a special touch in the getting CoB fans pumped up and wanting more, eagerly met with the crowd throwing up their “horns.” The band’s return to Rochester was well received after the long wait with their prior show with Black Label Society and Clutch at the Main Street Armory on January 30, 2012. Children of Bodom is Alexi Laiho on vocals/lead guitar, keyboardist Janne Wirman, bassist Henkka Seppälä, drummer Jaska Raatikainen and Daniel Freyberg on rhythm guitar.
Setlist: Deadnight Warrior, In the Shadows, Needled 24/7, Hatebreeder, Lake Bodom, Warheart, Hate Me!, Red Light In My Eyes Part 2, Downfall, Everytime I Die, Hate Crew Deathroll, Kissing The Shadows, Children of Bodom
Rob Derhak, bassist and vocalist from moe., announced on Facebook through both his personal page and the band’s page that he is officially cancer free. He was originally diagnosed with oropharyngeal cancer in July.
It has been about two weeks since moe. announced their return with two shows at Port Chester’s Capitol Theatre on Feb. 2 and 3. On Wednesday, Derhak announced that, following a visit with his doctor, he was given a clean bill of health and declared cancer free. The cancer diagnosis in July had the band on an indefinite hiatus that began back in August.
Derhak’s statement:
Hi Friends, I have some good news to post today. After being scanned, poked, and prodded my Dr.’s have given me a green light. Did I kick cancers ass? No, it beat me up pretty good. But I just didn’t have the sense to go down, and eventually the cancer grew tired and hit the mat. So essentially, I rope-a-doped the dam thing. Although I’ll need to continue the Dr.’s visits for the next 5 years, they’ve given me a clean bill of health and declared me cancer free, with only a minimal chance that it will return. So thank you to everyone that was pulling for me, the support I received was instrumental in helping me get through this. I am truly looking forward to seeing everyone when I hit the stage again this February, with moe. Thanks from Your Pal, Rob
In addition to the shows at the Capitol Theatre, moe. will return to host their Summer Camp Music Festival along with Umphrey’s McGee over Memorial Day weekend and they will be playing a show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado on July 12.
Mastering the headlining slot across the country, invading the studios at Paste Magazine and announcing a fresh run of gigs for Winter tour with a pass through Rochester’s Anthology, Greg Ormont, Jeremy Schon, Ben Carrey and Alex Petropulos have channeled their full potential into their latest studio effort.
With their ‘Pizazz’ tour in full swing hitting every square inch of North America, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong have perfected their explosive live energy and demanding presence with each passing show. Never slowing momentum and bringing the “better than the last” mentality to every gig, they stormed the freshly introduced Brooklyn Steel on Nov. 24, just before P4 brings their “Fun in Funk” to Saratoga Springs’ newly renovated Putnam Den just over one year from their Dopapod opening set.
NYS Music got to chat with Ormont, the wide-eyed front man on a rare day off, ahead of Pigeons Playing Ping Pong‘s Putnam Den resurgence. Here’s what he had to say about song-writing evolution, evanescent free time and the group’s steadfast efforts, all with interjections from wrestling foster cats.
Alyssa Ladzinski: Hey Greg! Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with me tonight. You’re in between gigs, where am I catching ya today?
Greg Ormont: I’m in Baltimore where we live when we’re not touring all the time so I’m at home which is always appreciated! Ready to get this interview rollin’.
AL: Let’s do it. Well as far as NY state shows go, you hit Brooklyn Steel a few days ago and being from Port Washington, LI yourself, how can you describe the atmosphere of that NY show and playing in a freshly opened and energized venue?
GO: Oh, Brooklyn Steel is fantastic. It’s very “Brooklyn” in the sense that you’re walking outside of it and it kinda looks like a warehouse, you really wouldn’t expect it to be this awesome venue from the outside but once you’re inside, its expansive, everyone can see the stage, the sound is great and on our end, the crew was awesome and super helpful. We had a smooth time at a new venue in Brooklyn. The energy in the room was off the charts. I had a few friends from LI in the crowd but it was hard to see them because fortunately a lot of people came out, so it was a blast. We even debuted a new Stevie Wonder cover that seemed to go over well.
AL: The last time you played Putnam Den in Saratoga Springs you opened for Dopapod. This time around, you’re headlining. Are you approaching this show any differently than you did nearly one year ago?
GO: Well we approach all our shows more or less the same with the full amount of energy that we can muster. With a headlining show, we have more time to jam and extend songs. I think the only difference will be that we’re able to dig into our catalogue more and extend jams for however long we want. When you’re opening, you’re always looking at the clock trying to wrap up with enough time for the next band to go on. We have a lot more freedom headlining and hopefully it’ll reflect in the music.
GO: *Hold on, time out. I have to break up a cat fight. Come on! Enough! Sorry, you can include this in all the quotes. Or don’t.*
AL: You bet I will. It’s all gold. I feared my cats would do the same.
GO: Go upstairs! My fiance fosters a lot of animals so I have an old geriatric dog barking at random cats. OK they’ve been separated. We should have a smooth interview from here. We have a bunch of cats walking around. This dog will bark at its reflection for a while. Animals have been separated, adrenaline is pumping, let’s keep movin’!
AL: Colorful is one word that comes to mind when thinking of Pigeons Playing Ping Pong. Let’s say you, Jeremy, Ben and Alex are each your own crayons. What color would each of you be and why?
GO: Holy moly I really didn’t see this question coming. Well Jeremy would be green and we’re gonna go with snake green. That’s because our guitarist has always been into snakes, lizards and frogs and stuff. He’s the kinda guy that will pick up a frog if its hopping around and I believe his first screen name was greensnakeman, maybe greensnakeman88. For some reason I’m thinking Alex would be red. I haven’t played with crayons in a while. He’d be a ragin’ red. And then I really wanna be blue but I’d have to pick a better adjective.
AL: I’m channeling a Blazin’ Blue.
GO:Blazin’ blue, that’s not bad! I’ll take help from NYS Music. Boy, and Ben would be the only one that changes color. He’d be the chameleon crayon. Everyday is different, every song is different and he changes outfits right in front of your eyes on stage. He’s a chameleon crayon straight-up and I’m blazin’ blue courtesy of NYS music.
AL: That’s what we’re here for! You announced even more winter tour dates on this ‘Pizazz’ run- how do you take time to rejuvenate with every show during this expansive and rigorous touring schedule?
GO: Well we just appreciate the times that we’re home and try to pour as much energy into our home life as we do on stage and on tour. We keep pretty busy off the road between working on new material, upcoming shows and we’ll be announcing a theme for our New Year’s show very soon. Jeremy and I throw Domefest, so you know I would like to rejuvenate more but I definitely don’t have any complaints. Now is the time for us. I know that and I love hustlin’, it’s good to stay busy. Even on tour we have some sweet off days. We went out in New Orleans this past tour and blew off some steam day drinking and wandering around the city. We recently went jet skiing in San Diego with our original drummer which is a great way to rejuvenate and keep the spirits exploding. It’s also another way to stay completely exhausted on tour on your one day off but it’s a sacrifice we’re willing to make.
AL: A lot of these tracks have been performed over the course of the years with your extreme live presence and are already fan-favorites. Which track are you happiest made the cut onto Pizazz?
GO: I’m definitely proud of “Ocean Flows.” That’s a song that I wrote the basic ideas for a while ago and it took us a while as a band to agree that it’s one we should play live. It’s one of the band’s more favorable songs to play to keep the energy flowing all the way to the end. It’s always cool listening to the finished products and remembering how they were written. Some being in spur of the moment goofy situations and it’s amazing people are listening and playing it on the radio when it was just a fun little diddy that developed into a song. A lot of times it boils down to if you picked up the guitar that day. One day I pick up the guitar and stumble across a fun new song that we love playing live, then it’s onto the album and radio station. You can always bring it back to “what if I never picked up the guitar that day.” Reminds me to take chances and strike now but at the same time keep it loose and not worry about where the song is going. If it ends up on an album that’s great, but if not, that’s also fine because fortunately the jam community allows us to play a lot of different kinds of music.
AL: Let’s talk the Flock and the Coop, your Facebook fan page and marketplace. Your fan base exponentially grows as does the sale of your pins. Are you surprised to see how much money people are willing to drop on them? I’ve even seen a few go for around 300 bucks.
GO: It’s pretty wild people are collecting our pins so feverishly. I kinda shut that type of stuff out. I stopped looking at the Flock as much as well its better I just focus on writing music and making plans for upcoming shows and not getting bogged out whats going on with the outside of things. I’m very appreciative people are psyched about our artwork and the band and we hope that whoever is flipping these pins are doing something good with the money. We prefer that go to charity or something but nonetheless, we’re excited that people are stoked on it and we love working with local artists and people from all over the country to make new artwork and keep pushing the envelope with how wacky we can get with a band named Pigeons Playing Ping Pong.
AL: What advice do you have for first time flockers catching the Putnam Den show?
GO: Oh man, well just relax and if you feel like dancing like a monkey go for it, no one’s gonna judge you if you dance like a monkey. We’ve had a few monkeys at our shows that have impressed us and inspired us to play more jungle style music. Just let it flow and don’t forget to smile.
AL: What actor would play you in a movie based on your life?
GO: Oh I hope me, that would be so cool! Do people do that? Maybe John C. Reilly but we’d have to act quickly. Wouldn’t want to do that in 20 years, that would be older Dewey right before he has a heart attack on stage. I think he could pull it off. Maybe Idris Elba. A strong combo of Idris Elba, John C. Reilly and a dash of Jack Black.
AL: Spitfire round! Choose the first answer that comes to mind.
AL: Kiwi or mango?
GO: Kiwi!
AL: Lemon or lime?
GO: Lemon
AL: New York or California?
GO: Ah. I know it’s supposed to be quick but I’m from New York and I really like California and I WANT to say California but my heart says New York.
AL: Sweet or savory?
GO: Sweet
AL: White or dark chocolate?
GO: White, and you know, I really would choose milk chocolate and in retrospect, I’d probably go lime but I said lemon. But that’s what it’s all about! It reveals things to me that I didn’t know about myself. In most interviews I don’t learn a lot about myself so thank you for this introspective line of questioning. I’ll be up all night thinking about the crayons and who would play me in a movie. I’ll text you later if i think of a better answer. Also feel free to take a poll! If any of our readers know who would play me in a movie, let’s hear it!
AL: We’ll put a call out! Thanks so much for entertaining these questions with some fun answers and anecdotes. Really looking forward to catching you at the Den.
GO: That was fun! You really threw me off. I normally get more standard questions. If I seriously think of anything else I’ll text you a follow up and you can say ”Greg texted later that it’s really “Sahara orange.”
Catch Pigeons Playing Ping Pong at Putnam Den on Saturday, December 2nd with the help of Flamingosis in the opening slot. Doors open at 8:30pm with the show to rage shortly after at 9:30pm.
Don’t underestimate Moriah Formica. Yes, she’s only 17. Yes, she’s small in stature. And yes, she can rock and roll just like Joan Jett.
Formica’s concerts at Jupiter Hall on November 24 and 26th followed her successful time on The Voice and she was clearly welcomed home by local fans. Hailing from Latham, NY, Formica became nationally known for her powerhouse performances on the reality television show earlier this fall. She returned to a sold out show Friday, November 24, and played to a well attended, eclectic audience on the 26th with her old band.
Formica’s microphone wasn’t on during the first part of her initial song, leaving her characteristically clear and strong voice out of the music for a few minutes. When the technology was fixed, though, her vocals grounded the group as they pushed through covers and even some original music, including “Save Me” and “Lovestruck”. It looked like all hard work and no play until the artist began chatting with the audience, sharing perspectives on love and her desire to not always be perceived as aggressive.
The acoustic set in the middle of the concert revealed a more vulnerable side. She sang “No Regrets,” a song about losing love, and “The Voice,” and also shared life experiences about being in love in 10th grade with “Here’s My Heart.” Her breath control was solid as she held clear and pitch-perfect notes, continuing through “Stone Cold” with pianist Dustin Deluke.
After the acoustic set, the band rejoined her for some grittier and heavier rock songs. Ending with a cover of “Barracuda,” Formica had heads nodding and bodies jumping.
Formica performed for 65 minutes with very few breaks for conversation. Rapid fire, intense and demonstrating undeniable clarity and pitch, Formica’s performance was a wonderful reminder not to underestimate her. Yes, she’s a local kid. Yes, The Voice didn’t maintain her on the show. And yes, she’s got a lot further to go with her career as a female rocker who can powerfully move an audience with both vocals and guitar. But it’s unlikely she’ll stay home for long.
The Recording Academy has released its list of nominees for the 2018 GRAMMY Awards, taking place in Madison Square Garden in New York on Jan. 28. This year’s list of nominees will be the most diverse in the history of the Recording Academy. The academy has, for the first time, allowed online GRAMMY nominations from its 1,300 members which has helped increase participation in the voting process.
Album of the Year nods went to Awaken, My Love! by Childish Gambino, 4:44 by Jay-Z, DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar, Melodrama by Lorde and 24K Magic by Bruno Mars. This marks the most minority nominees in the Album of the Year category since 2005. Jay-Z is nominated for a total of eight Grammys. Lamar is next with seven, followed by Mars with six Grammy nods.
A noticeable snub in the album category this year is perennial nominee, Ed Sheeran. Sheeran was nominated in the categories of Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Solo Performance.
Nominees in other categories include Gregg Allman’s posthumous release, Southern Blood, for Best Americana Album. Allman’s album is nominated alongside Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit’s The Nashville Sound, Iron & Wine’s Beast Epic, the Mavericks’ Brand New Day and Brent Cobb’s Shine on Rainy Day.
The Infamous Stringdusters received their second ever Grammy nomination, this time in the Best Bluegrass Album category for Laws of Gravity. Other nominees in that category are Noam Pikelny, Michael Cleveland, Bobby Osborne and Rhonda Vincent and the Rage.
The Best Contemporary Blues Category nominees include Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm, Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’ Tedeschi Trucks Band, Robert Randolph & the Family Band and Sonny Landreth.
Leonard Cohen, who died late last year, is nominated in two categories. Cohen’s nods include one for Best American Roots Performance and, curiously, for Best Rock Performance. Bob Dylan also garnered a nomination for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for his album Triplicate, his third consecutive album to mine the Great American Songbook. The Rolling Stones tribute to the blues, Blue and Lonesome is nominated in the Best Traditional Blues Album category.
The 60th Annual Grammy Awards, hosted by James Corden, will be broadcast on CBS Jan. 28. For the complete list of nominees, visit the Grammy Awards website here.
Dave DiPrimo Band has just released Reflections, their sophomore full-length album. NYS Music met up with members of the folk rock quartet at Java’s Cafe, where just two months ago they played to a packed house during the Rochester Fringe Festival. Their saxophonist was unable to attend, but Michael Slattery, the photographer who did the artwork for the album cover, was available for the interview.
Dave DiPrimo Band at Java’s Cafe during the 2017 Rochester Fringe Festival Photo: Joseph DiPrimo
Paula Cummings: Dave, you started as a singer/songwriter. What made you want to start a band?
Dave DiPrimo: Being a singer/songwriter, there’s only so much you can do. Your songs come to fruition, but they never turn out the way you expect them to. They’re kind of empty. It was also kinda lonely, always doing one thing, just you on stage. There’s no one to turn around and make faces at when you say stupid stuff. No drummer to make fun of you or tell you to stop blabbering when you’re talking too long. Playing with a full band makes the songs sound better and fuller – their musicianship and the instrumentation they provide. It’s more fun to play with people, especially good people. And these guys, you know, they’re okay. (Laughter)
PC: Who are the other members of the band, and what do you play?
Reid Hoffmeier: I’m Reid and I drum for the Dave DiPrimo Band.
Ian Benz: My name is Ian and I play bass. Me and Dave went to Boy Scouts 6 years ago. That’s where we met. Six months later, I started playing in Ivy’s Panic Room. He knew that I’ve been playing bass for a while. He contacted me. And this has been working out pretty well.
DD: Karis Gregory plays saxophone and lead guitar on some songs. I go to Nazareth College with him. In previous iterations of this band, he filled in for certain shows. When the band was changing, I brought him on full time.
PC: That leads to my next question. You’re all in college. How do you balance the demands of being students and musicians?
DD: Very carefully! We try to practice as much as we’re available. This has been a busy time of year. We haven’t been playing too many shows, as we’ve been finishing the album. It can be a lot to try to organize practice and shows with school, but we’ve been doing okay so far. We haven’t had any VH1 Behind The Music meltdown moments.
RH: This is one of the few things I do for fun outside of college and work, so whenever we have something that pops up, I just cut everything else and make this a priority. It’s hard juggling three jobs essentially, but having a job you care about and is entertaining to do, with a bunch of friends, you make it number one.
IB: It’s not that bad. Weekends usually work out, and there’s only a couple weekends left in the semester. I’m cramming it in, but it’s totally worth it.
PC: You were featured on the Rochester Indie Musician Spotlight, where you had the distinction of being the youngest artist on the series. What was that like?
DD: It was pretty cool. It was an interesting experience to have the cameras there. Dan Gross, the host, is A) a talented professional and B) just a really great guy, so we were happy to be on the show with him. That was before we had Ian with us. We got Ian two months after that. It was a cool jumping point to have our first show together as a taped session. We also did a little recording at WITR, too. We did a live EP with them. Those kinds of sessions, where it’s not just a show but there’s something permanent left over, that’s cool. We signed the (WITR) wall near Joywave and a lot of bands who have done stuff there. We took up an obnoxious amount of space.
RH: Dead center above the door, so walking in and out you always see it.
WITR Studio Photo: Bailey Gribben
PC: Tell me about the album. What is the overall theme?
DD: I feel like every time I write an album, it starts as a story with a start and finish. And I feel like by the time it’s done and in the right order, it’s not anymore. It’s kind of little vignettes. It’s called Reflections. Everything I wrote is not about things currently going on in my life, for the most part. They’re all sort of nostalgia and looking back. For example, on the last track on the album, “Glory Days,” there’s a line referencing this past New Year’s Eve when we had a fun time at one of our live shows. There’s a joke that’s made about that evening.
PC: You guys are young, but have this old soul vibe going on.
RH: We’re just more mature than everyone else!
DD: We’re old and cool and wise… Our music has so many influences. As a songwriter, I’m inspired by soul, alternative, punk and rock, and some emo stuff. All these different genres look back and reflect on the past. I feel like there are not too many folk songs looking towards a bright future. It’s all dwelling on stuff.
PC: When and where was it recorded?
RH: I don’t remember the date. It was over the summer, but we did it in one day. It was exhausting. I didn’t get home until midnight.
DD: It was at The Green Room in Ontario. Matt Ramerman, our engineer, is the owner of The Green Room. We did the session there. A month or two later, I went back. He had moved his studio from Ontario to Rochester. I went back and added some keys and worked on mixing some more.
PC: How did this recording experience differ from the first album?
DD: Even as we were listening to the rough mix in the studio for Reflections, it just felt like it was going to be a more satisfying product.
RH: We put a lot of effort and hours into it. Not just in the studio, in the weeks leading up to the recording: the practice, the ideas back and forth. We had already played these songs a number of times, but we just kept nitpicking – “I want to change this, let’s run it through.” We listened to it for the first time a couple weeks ago. It was a lot of fun.
DD: Ian, Reid and Karis put so much effort into the album, and into practice – making sure they were on and ready. I think at most we only needed three or four takes.
PC: I like the album artwork.
Michael Slattery: One day, I got out of work and I saw these clouds from a distance. I went home and got my camera; I went chasing the clouds. I took a nice picture and that’s the picture that’s on the back of the CD. And as I was driving home, I looked into my side mirror. I saw the cloud again and I thought it would be cool to take a picture of the cloud back through the mirror.
DD: I love Mike’s photos. I think it fits the mood really well. And I really like my brother Joe’s photo on the inside of the four silhouettes.
Reflections was released on November 25. It’s available to stream on their website and Spotify, and purchase on CD Baby, iTunes and Google Play. Follow Dave DiPrimo Band on Facebook and Twitter for upcoming performances and news.
Rangers, the lineup is here. The 12th annual Rock on the Range has announced all of the artist that will appear at the three day festival starting May 18-20, 2018 in Columbus, OH, at MAPFRE Stadium.
Nearly 60 bands will perform over three days headled by Tool, Avenged Sevenfold, and Alice In Chains. Tool frontman, Maynard James Keenen will not only appear with Tool, his other band, A Perfect Circle, will also appear sometime during the festival.
Daily lineups are yet to be announced but other artists scheduled to appear among the three stages the include Godsmack, Stone Sour, Breaking Benjamin,Three Days Grace, Stone Temple Pilots, Bullet For My Valentine, Black Veil Brides, Asking Alexandria, I Prevail, Greta Van Fleet, Trivium, 10 Years, From Ashes To New, Like A Storm, Shaman’s Harvest, and Stitched Up Heart to name a few.
In a recent Blabbermouth article, Avenged Sevenfold frontman, M. Shadows, commented on headlining ROTR. He stated:
Rock On The Range is the undisputed champion of American rock festivals. The team over there has done an incredible job of curating a potent mix of all the types of rock ‘n roll that any fan could ask for. It’s an honor to play at the top of the bill, and we cannot wait to see everyone in May.
Several ticket packages have already sold out, with several options to choose from still available, but they won’t last for long as ROTR seems to sell out quicker each year. Weekend passes include Field VIP – $349 plus fees, Field General Admission – $299.50 plus fees, and Stadium General Admission – $149.50.
Uber Ranger camping packages are available while supplies last along with bronze, silver, gold, and diamond hotel packages. For more information, visit the festival website here.
A fun game for the audience at any DSO show is to take a guess as to what Grateful Dead show the band is covering (which they later reveal before their encore). Shortly after the start of the first set it was fairly easy to narrow the time frame to the late 1980s/early 19990s from the prominence of the keys and later the style of the drum break. DSO broke form slightly to perform a selective setlist in the style of a particular show which in this case was based on the stylings of 
This tour wasn’t one to miss, reaching both new and old Children Of Bodom fans, playing songs from their first three albums. The crowd showed diversity in sporting a variety of shirts, patches and attire, drawing in metalheads from as far as Albany and Syracuse to Anthology, a restored multi-level auto warehouse on East Avenue. While the crowd initially looked sparse and scattered before the show began as the evening progressed more people began filtering in, filling up the venue.
