NYS Music 20​17

Category: Regions

  • Landmark Albany Theater Building Up For Auction

    All Over Albany has reported that the 101-year-old EBA, short for Electric Body Arts, a landmark theater building, located on the corner of Lark and Hudson in Albany, is up for sale by online auctioneers Collar City Auctions.

    EBA founder Maude Baum, purchased the building in 1977, from the Daughters of the Eastern Star, and has been running dance classes out of the building ever since, making it one of the staples of the community. Although this era is coming to a close, Baum states that the company will continue.

    Baum talked about the current situation:

    There are lots of places to hold classes, there are lots of places to perform, there are lots of places to rehearse. I’m OK with it. I’m sort of at the point where it’s time for a change.

    The building was up for auction a while back, but developers only wanted the land, not the building. They discovered that their original plans of demolishing the building, wouldn’t be cost effective according to Baum. She stated:

    It’s built like a Mack truck. The beams are 15-inch metal studs so it’s structurally sound. It’s in excellent shape. We just finished shingling, there’s a new boiler, and a new tin ceiling in the theater.

    Before considering the online auction route, the company was turned down for a state Main Street grant, hoping to add apartments and offices to the building.

    EBA is still holding regular scheduled rehearsals, performances and classes until the bidding closes on March 2, with an assessed value of $518,400, according to city tax records. After that, Baum and her board of directors are up for any ideas, opportunities, and possibilities.

    Baum on the future of the building:

    Who knows, maybe someone will buy the building and want to lease the space back to us, or share it with us somehow. Anything could happen.

    Everything that has happened here is still in my heart — All the artwork and performances — They’re still inside of me. What’s the difference if you look at a photo here or you look at it someplace else.

  • Hearing Aide: Overkill “The Grinding Wheel”

    It is already the second month of 2017 and it is already showing this year is the year of the thrash! With Kreator’s Gods Of Violence and Sepulutura’s Machine Messiah released in January, both are perfect examples why the genre will never go down without a fight. Now it is time for another thrash/speed heavyweight to show the spirit of cheap beer and denim is still alive. I am speaking of course of the mighty Overkill with their latest album, The Grinding Wheel, released via Nuclear Blast. Time to give this giant a well deserved review.

    Being the eighteenth studio album from Bobby “Blitz” and the boys, it is safe to say these veterans of the genre know what makes the name Overkill so great. A great follow up from White Devil Armory (released 2014 via Nuclear Blast), this album has their brand of metal written all over it. The groove aspects of D.D Verni (bass guitar) and Derek Tailer (rhythm guitar) gives the album many memorable tracks. The most dominant tracks on the album that showcase their type of approach are the tracks “Come Heavy” and “Red White and Blue.” With “Blitz” vocals, you will find yourself singing along while the general public just stares at you. Let them stare! You are a thrasher. These tracks just keep you bobbing your head more than a headbanger from “Brütal Legend”. It is called heavy metal.

    Another key element of this album are the 80s classic thrash riffs that makes you wanna toss your friend in the circle pit while you hold his beer. You totally got it dude! The single off the album, “Our Finest Hour,” is the powerhouse staple that drives the aggression from start to finish on this shred-tastic release. The machine gun style drumming of Eddy Garcia, always keeping up the groove and the pace of the song, is like a kick in the jaw. . Every snare and cymbal hit sounds as if a storm is coming over the horizon. You might as well get a mouth guard while listening to it. It is a a non-stop ride of pure danger, but we know you love the abuse.

    There are so many tracks on this work of art which which will keep you windmilling for days. It is safe to say this album will constantly be blasted by those who are thirsty for the glory days of American thrash. Prepare those neck muscles. This album gets a 4.5 out of 5 stars. Pick it up now via Nuclear Blast or at your local record store.

    Key Tracks: Come On Heavy, Our Finest Hour, Red White and Blue.

    Overkill is currently on a North American tour w/ Nile, Amorphis and Swallow The Sun.
    Overkil. Hitting up Clifton Park at Upstate Concert Hall on September 3rd, 2017.

    For all concert check the band’s page. http://wreckingcrew.com/Ironbound

  • Grateful Dead Announce Official Release of Legendary Cornell ’77 Show

    One of the Grateful Dead‘s most revered shows is finally seeing the light of day in an official release this spring to mark the show’s 40th anniversary.

    The band played its first of three shows (1977, 1980, and 1981) on May 7, 1977, booked by the Cornell Concert Commission after some troubles with booking live acts in the years prior. May ’77 wasn’t first live Cornell campus appearance from the Grateful Dead family however. The Jerry Garcia Band had performed at Cornell’s Bailey Hall less than two years prior on 10-27-1975. The May 1977 lineup for the Grateful Dead included the core of Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, as well as Donna and Keith Godcheaux.

    Photo: dead.net

    The official release, in the form of a 5-LP box set and CD, will contain the entire Cornell ’77 show mastered from the Betty board tapes. Not only will this Barton Hall show be released, included in another 11-CD box set (May ’77: Get Shown The Light) will be 5/5/77 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in New Haven, CT, 5/7 at Boston Garden, and 5/9 at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

    Cornell ’77 Poster designed by Cornell alumnus Jay Maybrey

    Many sources of the Barton Hall show have been circulated over the years, including unofficial soundboards (heard over on archive.org) which are of decent quality, though with some flaws inherent to the taping and matrix mixing process. Rolling Stone gave a sneak preview of “Morning Dew” from the upcoming release and after listening to the bootlegs of Barton Hall, the release promises to be a fantastic treat for Deadheads.

    The various release formats for the Cornell ’77 show and the other May 1977 shows debut on May 5 and pre-orders for it are available now over at dead.net. Only limited quantities of the 5-LP vinyl box set of the Cornell ’77 show are available.

    Peter Conners, author of “Growing Up Dead” and other works on the Grateful Dead is working on a book titled “Cornell ’77,” chronicling the Dead’s appearance at Cornell set to be published by Cornell University Press.

  • Photo Gallery: LOCASH at Vapor Nightclub

    The Nashville-based Country/Pop duo LOCASH performed along with a full band on February 16 at Vapor Nightclub in Saratoga Springs, to a packed house.  The show was hosted by 100.9 The Cat.

    locashChris Lucas and Preston Brust, whose powers’ combined make up LOCASH, were in especially good spirits after receiving their first major Country Music Industry award nomination earlier in the day for New Vocal Duo or Group of the Year. Lucas and Brust, along with their band, were riding high throughout the show, taking the opportunity to celebrate this milestone in their careers with their fans who showed up for them in droves and packed the club out.

    The ACM Awards will air live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 2nd.

  • Funk n Waffles is Coming to Rochester, Closing Original SU Hill Location

    Update: The original location of Funk ‘N Waffles, located on the SU Hill in the original home of Hungry Charlie’s, will be closing on Wednesday, February 22. The downtown location will remain open. In a statement on the venue’s Facebook page, owner Adam Gold said:

    It is with a heavy heart that after 10 years of great food, delicious coffees, wonderful people, fun times, hard work, ups and downs, (and a few open mic nights thrown into the mix), Funk ‘n Waffles owner Adam Gold announces the closing of the restaurant’s original location on the SU Hill (727 S Crouse Ave). This has been difficult for us as a staff, however we are left with no choice as the building block is being torn down.

    Original article follows below:

    Funk ‘N Waffles is heading west on I-90 this spring. The Syracuse business has leased the former Water Street Music Hall, bringing their delicious menu and concert calendar with them.

    Owner Adam Gold, also of Sophistafunk, posted the following message on Facebook this morning:

    Hello Rochester! If you haven’t already heard, I’m really proud to announce that we are opening Funk ‘n Waffles 3 in Rochester very soon at the old Water Street Music Hall!!! We’ll be open all day every day serving up the same funky menu, and there will be live music 7 days a week! We are really excited to be a part of Rochester’s growing St. Paul Quarter!

    Rochester has a few venues for up and coming bands – 3 Heads Brewing, Flour City Station and Montage Music Hall – but the closing of Water Street Music Hall in the past few years last left a void in the Rochester scene, as local bands cannot move directly into the 900 capacity Anthology without stepping up into a mid-sized venue the size of the Funk ‘N Waffles at the old Water Street Music Hall. The musical history of the building and central location would serve the area well as a future Funk ‘N Waffles.

    Update: this article reflects updated time frame for opening and clarification on leasing of building.

  • PWR BTTM Announces New Album, Release ‘Big Beautiful Day’ Music Video

    New York’s PWR BTTM announced their sophomore album will be released on May 12 on Polyvinyl Records. Pageant is the follow-up to 2015’s acclaimed Ugly Cherries. The punk duo plans to tour extensively in 2017. The North American summer tour kicks off Friday May 26 at Toronto’s Velvet Underground, and comes to New York’s Webster Hall on June 21. Tickets are available starting noon on Friday, February 17.

    PWR BTTMCoinciding with the album announcement, PWR BTTM also released the video for “Big Beautiful Day,” the final song on Pageant. The music video, directed by Christopher Good, is chock full of deliciously decadent glam. The day-in-the-life concept starts with band members Ben Hopkins and Liv Bruce having waffles for breakfast and builds up to an extravagant dance party.

    Pageant is available for preorder as a digital download, compact disc, metallic gold cassette, and maroon vinyl.

    PWR BTTMTracklist:

    1 Silly
    2 Answer My Text
    3 LOL
    4 Won’t
    5 Now, Now
    6 Sissy
    7 Pageant
    8 Oh Boy
    9 New Trick
    10 Wash
    11 Kids’ Table
    12 Big Beautiful Day
    13 Styrofoam

  • Singin’ To Strangers: The Wood Brothers at Webster Hall

    On Friday, February 10 at Webster Hall in Manhattan, The Wood Brothers brought their unique blend of soul, folk and rock to a packed house. In a venue known for DJs and dance parties, the rare bill featured an Oakland based indie-Americana band known as The T Sisters. A short opening set from the ladies warmed the room up for the main family act of the evening and created a comfortable space for everyone in the room.

    As the stage darkened and The Wood Brothers appeared in the shadows, the heartbeat of “Stop That Train” began pulsating on stage. The song, popularized by Bob Marley and The Wailers, created a fantastic segue for “Two Places” off their newest studio album Paradise. The topics of lost love and the urge to embark on a new adventure are etched into the lyrics of both songs. “All my life, I’ve been a lonely man,” paralleled with “I’m livin’ a beautiful dream while I’m chasing another” made this opening combo one of the most delicately crafted surprises of the show, and we had only just begun.

    Couples began embracing each other during the always-beautiful “Keep Me Around” as Jano Rix gave the song something extra with his self-made instrument, the Shuitar. Friday night partiers at the venue bar slammed rounds of shots after Oliver Wood announced that the song, “Loaded” was on their newest live album, Live at the Barn. Much like the recorded rendition, Oliver asked for assistance from the rowdy audience and we were happy to belt out the playful lyrics along with them.

    The trio always does an outstanding job of cleverly crafting their set lists and digging deep into the twelve-year-old catalog. Friday night was no exception. “Tried and Tempted,” which found its way into the sixth spot of the set list, can be heard on their debut record, Ways Not To Lose. In only a half dozen tunes, they had played a new cover and songs from each and every one of their five studio releases. Chris Wood showed off his moves during “Snakes Eyes” and got the crowd shaking along with him during this crisp and rocking version. Oliver unleashed a new song with a bluesy reggae feel and since they have been working on some new material in their hometown of Nashville, TN, one can only hope that a new studio album is on the horizon. The year 2016 sucked for so many reasons, and the lack of a Wood Brothers original release didn’t help.

    Speaking of 2016, “American Heartache” was next up and lead into an uplifting “Atlas” which was one of the first songs the Wood Brothers ever played onstage nearly a dozen years ago in the same city. The somber “Blue and Green” mellowed Webster Hall out before “One More Day” brought the fire to a roar and allowed Oliver to show off some unusually bluesy chops at the end the tune.

    To the crowd’s enthusiastic approval, the band brought out Big Mike (an old -timey stand-up microphone) and quietly played one of their loveliest pieces, “The Muse” off the 2013 album with the same name. Along with Big Mike, the brothers also welcomed their opening act, The T Sisters, to join them for another song off The Muse, “Sing About It.” After hearing the live NYC debut of this song at the Bowery Ballroom a few years prior, I knew there was something special about it, but Friday night’s version took it to a whole new level with the addition of female vocalists. In pop culture, three brothers and three sisters sharing the stage may remind you of rainbows, sunshine and dancing all through the night, but unlike the Brady Bunch, the six members on stage Friday night sang about the power of music in its most spiritual and rawest form.

    As The T Sisters exited the stage, “Postcards From Hell” kept the relaxed and thought-provoking vibe present in the room. To finish the set, they executed two more songs from their southern rock influenced catalog with “Singin’ To Strangers” and “Honey Jar.” A new version of their old hit “Luckiest Man” brought smiles to faces throughout the room as part one of a two-song encore. The Band’s “Ophelia” closed out the show and gave the audience one more chance to sing along with the trio.  In a recent interview, Oliver mentioned how much of an influence Levon Helm has been for the band’s development, and they certainly paid tribute during the well-received finale.  The show started and ended with classic covers and gave long-time fans and strangers alike one more fantastic Wood Brothers show for the books.

    Setlist: Stop That Train> Two Places, Keep Me Around, Loaded, Smoke Ring Halo, Tried and Tempted, Snake Eyes, (New Song), American Heartache, Atlas, Blue And Green, One More Day, Muse*, Sing About It*^, Postcards From Hell, Singin’ To Strangers, Honey Jar

    Encore: Luckiest Man, Ophelia

    *Big Mike ^w/ The T Sisters

  • White Denim Hits Brooklyn Bowl for 2 Night Blast

    Austin indie rock band White Denim swung through NYC for a quick two night stop at the beloved Brooklyn Bowl on Thursday and Friday, February 9 and 10. The band of James Petralli on vocals and guitar, Jordan Richardson on drums, Steven Terebecki on vocals and bass, and Mike St. Clair on trumpet and synthesizer performed a variety of their studio albums, but leaned heavily towards their most recent release Stiff, the 7th in their catalog.

    white denim brooklyn bowlThe band only has a handful of tour dates posted for the rest of 2017 at them moment, with their next return to New York this summer at Mountain Jam. Be sure to catch them if you can.

    White Denim Setlist Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY, USA 2017

    White Denim Setlist Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY, USA 2017

  • North Country Festival Backwoods Pondfest Bids Farewell

    Backwoods Pondfest, a staple music festival held just south of Plattsburgh, NY each summer, has announced it will not return in 2017. The festival’s promoters posted on the Pondfest Facebook page:

    Hello Backwoods Pondfest family!
    Coming off our 10th and best year yet, it’s disheartening for us to have to let you know that we will not be having our 11th Pondfest this coming summer. This was not an easy decision to arrive at, but after much discussion we’ve concluded that we can’t have our beloved festival for a variety of challenging reasons – rather than fight the universe, we’re instead remaining optimistic for what the future holds in years to come.

    Many of you have kindly and graciously reminded us year after year that this festival is something special for you and your loved ones, and it truly pains us to have to make this choice. We look forward to making more memories with you, no matter what form in the future they may come. We love you and thank you for making Backwoods Pondfest such a special place for 10 years running.
    Sincerely –Backwoods Pondfest

    Backwoods Pondfest was a staple of the summer in the North Country of New York. The festival finds its roots in the 70s and 80s, when Sandy Bazzano held ‘Pondstock’ each summer. Around the turn of the century, SWM Productions produced Pondstock for a few years, and was later resurrected in 2007 when Lowell Wurster of Lucid, Katie Bazzano (Sandy’s daughter), and Chris Boire teamed together to bring the event back under the name Backwoods Pondfest.

    Initially held in early September, the festival shifted to August and saw a continually huge turnout from a loyal audience who came for a wide array of music offerings. Lucid performed twice each weekend, serving as host band, and welcoming acts that included Spiritual Rez, Twiddle, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Bernie Worrell, Pork Tornado, Pink Talking Fish, Chali2na, Ryan Montbleau, Assembly of Dust, Melvin Seals and JGB, The Breakfast, Cabinet, Conehead Buddha, plus up and coming bands including Formula 5, Mister F, Capital Zen, Annie in the Water, Hayley Jane and the Primates and many, many more over the 10 years Pondfest brought music to the North Country.

    Reflecting on what he will miss the most from the past 10 years of Pondfest, Lowell Wurster replied

    After 10 years of Backwoods Pondfest, what I will miss the most is the family. New people come every year, but there are a bunch of people who have come every year or most every year. Some of those people I only see once a year, some of them I see often. But once a year we are all together in the same place, at the same time to worship music and freedom. Pondfest isn’t like other festivals and these people understand that. This is more than a festival: it’s a community, it’s a family, and that is what I will miss most.

    Pondfest may be gone for now, but if Pondstock can give rise to Pondfest some 20 years later, perhaps Pondfest will lead to yet another music festival, one that maintains the true feeling, freedom and experience of music festivals not found at larger, corporate events. The empty weekend on early August calendar will be the first time in 10 years we didn’t get lost in the back of the woods, by a pond, at a music festival.

    Backwoods Pondfest

  • Melissa Etheridge Bringing True Self to Troy

    Academy Award and Grammy winning musician Melissa Etheridge is bringing everything she’s got to the Troy with the Hodges Brothers this April.

    On April 23. at 7:30 PM, Etheridge will be performing at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy on her M.E. tour. With two Grammys and an Academy Award win behind her, Etheridge has continued for over two decades to be one of America’s beloved female singer-songwriters.

    Known for hit singles such as, “I’m the Only One”, “Ain’t It Heavy” and “I Want To Come Over,” Etheridge is bringing her signature smoky, raspy vocals to Troy alongside new content for her tour.

    On Oct. 7, Etheridge released, Memphis Rock & Soul, her first album since 2014’s critically acclaimed, This Is M.E. Receiving praise from renowned publications such as Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly, Etheridge will be sharing some of her newer works across the country for her M.E. tour.

    Etheridge is also known for inspiring people beyond her music. Beating her battle with breast cancer, Etheridge appeared at the 2005 Grammys to perform Janis Joplin’s, “Piece of My Heart,” bald from her chemotherapy. Doing so, Etheridge inspired women across the world with her powerful message.

    Tickets go on-sale for the M.E. tour this Friday, Feb. 17 at 10 AM.

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