Dopapod will release their second live album II Saw Live Dopapod Evil Was IIthis Friday, March 31. The album takes choice tracks off live recordings from Fall 2016 and early 2017 shows in Colorado. This live release is in addition to the high quality soundboards of most performances available at music.dopapod.com. Highlights include the new song “Trickery”, as well as fan favorites “Trapper Keeper,” “FABA,” “Picture In Picture,” and many more.
Fans can pre-order the album and get an instant download of “FABA” and receive the album immediately upon its release.
3/29 Columbus, OH: Park Street Saloon
3/30 Pittsburgh, PA: The Rex Theater
3/31 Philadelphia, PA: Theatre Of Living Arts
4/1 Philadelphia, PA: Theatre Of Living Arts
4/5 Portland, ME: Port City Music Hall
4/6 Burlington, VT: Higher Ground
4/7 Boston, MA: Paradise Rock Club
4/8 Boston, MA: Paradise Rock Club
4/9 Fairfield, CT: The Warehouse @ FTC 4/12 Ithaca, NY: The Haunt
4/13 Cleveland, OH: Beachland Ballroom
4/14 Detroit, MI: The Magic Stick
4/15 Grand Rapids, MI: The Intersection
4/18 Urbana, IL: Canopy Club
4/19 St. Louis, MO: Ready Room
4/20 Lexington, KY: Cosmic Charlies
4/21 Nashville, TN: Mercy Lounge
4/22 Atlanta, GA: Sweetwater 420 Festival
4/25 Wilmington, NC: The Throne Theatre
4/26 Carborro, NC: Cat’s Cradle
4/27 Charlotte, NC: Neighborhood Theatre
4/28 Richmond, VA: The Broadberry
4/29 Baltimore, MD: Soundstage 6/9 Stephentown, NY
6/10 Boulder, CO: Fox Theatre
6/29-30 Quincy, CA High Sierra Music Festival
7/01 Ozark, AR: Highberry Music Festival
7/15 Berryville, VA: Pasture Palooza
8/04 Thornville, OH: Werk Out Music & Arts Festival
8/06 Loveland, CO: Arise Music Festival
8/10 Scranton, PA: Peach Music Festival
Two weeks ago, we started with 64 artists from across New York State, now we’re here. Four bands from Binghamton, Buffalo, and a pair from Syracuse remain representing genres of prog rock, jam, reggae and drum fusion, bringing us into the Final 4 and home stretch of NYS Music’s March Madness 2017 friendly competition with these rising bands from across New York State.
Raibred is a progressive/psychedelic rock band from the Binghamton, NY area. Formed in 2011, we have played over 100 shows all across New York and Pennsylvania. Raibred’s setlist is changing constantly at every show which makes each performance unique and one of a kind. With a growing list of originals and covers from the Dead, Phish, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, moe., Little Feat, etc. you can hear all of your favorites mixed in with our original work to make your night out one to remember. We are always adding dates so please be sure to get out and check us out sometime!
Intrepid Travelers were founded on friendship, fun, and a sense of freedom, Intrepid Travelers is a musical quartet from Buffalo, NY that defines itself through boundless improvisation and eclectic evolution. Treating each live show as a journey with the audience rather than a performance, Intrepid Travelers pride themselves on a form of focused, collective expression that showcases a medium where cerebral musicianship meets heartfelt, soulful songwriting. Quickly building a following as an improvisational band that draws influence from the diverse catalog of American music, each show has the potential to explore any genre or style, from heavy roots in jazz-funk fusion, rock, bluegrass, to even classical and electronic music. Party music for the head and heart that also keeps the dance floor grooving.
Root SHOCK was formed in Winter of 2012 with veteran musicians whose love of reggae music flows deep. Blending roots reggae, dancehall, heavy drum & bass and soulful vocals with conscious lyrics into positive dance music will make you want to move! Root SHOCK has been surprising and delighting crowds across the Central New York region, bringing their unique high-energy style spearheaded by the stunning vocals of Jessica Brown to a wide range of settings. The band’s dedication to spreading music with a positive message has paid off in entertaining, elevating, and energizing music lovers of all walks of life! The band released their latest video “Sunlight” this past week.
Boogie Low recently released their latest album this month at The Westcott Theater. This four piece band originating out of Syracuse, NY includes Loudon Smith, Matthew West, Brandon Au, and Tommy Dennis delivers an organic sound created by each member’s individual style. With musical inspiration taken from a wide spectrum of music, Boogie Low produces a fusion of intricate melodies accompanied by an unconventional drum style. With a sound like no other, take a listen to get a taste of their sweet, sweet music.
We’d like to thank our regional sponsors The Hollow Bar and Kitchen, Nietzsche’s Buffalo, The Downtown Barn and Castle Studio. These small businesses represent the best of what New York State has to offer and celebrate music while inviting local and touring bands to perform for growing local scenes across the state.
I like to think anyone can appreciate a joke band with a solid gimmick. Just as long as it doesn’t go over people’s heads, anyone should get it under the right circumstances. That’s what drew me to Buffalo’s Tralf Music Hall on the March 23 to see the Mockstrosity tour, a collection of three such joke bands with substantial cult followings taking their gimmicks nationwide.
Hell, the show posters show an evil Ronald McDonald, a black-clad mariachi member, and stupid sexy Ned Flanders tearing up buildings Godzilla-style. They are well aware of their jokes and embrace it wholeheartedly.
Oh I had questions as to how these bands decided to tour together in the first place. But I left my sense of reality at the door, choosing to believe the story Mac Sabbath singer Ronald Osborne told the audience during their set. Evidently, Mac Sabbath was tired of playing with other “Drive-Thru Metal” bands, like Twisted Sizzler and Bauhaus of Pancakes, writer of the hit song “Taco Bela Lugosi’s Dead,” and organized an “international” tour with bands of different metal genres.
The first act, Okilly Dokilly, the world’s only “Nedal” band, came on stage rather unceremoniously. Amidst the covered props for the other acts, the five members, with their green sweaters, khakis, and Ned Flanders mustaches, gave the audience their first sense of leaving reasonable music taste outside. The singer, “Head Ned,” greeted the audience with a “Howdilly Doodilly neighboreenos!” in his best Ned Flanders voice before starting off with “They Warned Me (that the devil would be attractive).”
Their entire setlist was like a rundown of the most quotable Ned Flander’s phrases. Songs like “Godspeed Little Doodle,” “You’re a Jerk,” and the time Ned Flanders was the devil and tricked Homer into eating a donut to steal his soul. Since the whole joke is centered on how a metalcore band writes songs about such an innocent character, it’s all the more amusing how Head Ned alternates between screaming the lyrics and resuming his impression in between songs. This goes to the extreme as he goes on a monologue about how left-handed people are at war with society in general (like spiral notebooks and pants). He would also occasionally wrestle with the keyboardist on stage, when the keyboard wasn’t being thrown around of course.
Okilly Dokilly ended their show with arguably the most iconic Flander’s quote of them all, “Nothing at All.” Head Ned even revealed himself to be wearing a ski suit underneath his other outfit, to which he just had to say, “Feels like I’m wearing nothing at all.” With one last “Nedal” hoorah, including a bit of the Offspring’s “Gone Away,” Okilly Dokilly left the stage as unceremoniously as they came on.
The second crazy act on, Metalachi, was lead on stage with a hype man, claiming they’d convert all the Metalachi virgins in the crowd tonight. With a setup that included bra-covered microphones and outfits like any 80’s metal band would wear, the five-piece band, from Juarez, Mexico by way of Los Angeles, launched right away with “Symphony of Destruction” and “Ace of Spades.” Between songs, there would be plenty of banter between the singer, Veca de la Rockha, and the trumpeter, El Cucuy, joking about being so close to the Canadian border and finding a girl to get a green card.
The range of their covers was all over the place. The beginning had them singing the likes of Dio, Def Leppard, and Guns N Roses, before moving onto Sublime and Journey, where the big guitar player, Nacho Picante, sang “Open Arms,” to an audience member decked out in skull facepaint. Then the violinist, “Queen” Kyla Vera,” performed an instrumental medley containing the likes of Metallica, Zeppelin, and Iron Maiden before moving onto more Metallica, AC/DC, and ending with “Raining Blood.”
So, yes: a mariachi band playing metal covers. They sound as if a Mexican restaurant house band decided to have a more twisted version of Day of the Dead. But oh man, did I have a smile on my face for every bit of metal I did recognize.
The final act, the one most people in the audience wore shirts of, the one that had roadies dressed as fast food employees, and had props of evil looking Ronald McDonalds and a burger drum kit, Mac Sabbath took the stage to audio that sounded like it was talking about the evil clown sightings in North Carolina. As their curtain fell, playing their “War Pigs” parody “More Ribs,” Ronald Osborne came out wearing a straightjacket, eventually freeing himself of it as the song went on. As the song ended, as Ronald proclaimed Mac Sabbath are the forefathers of “Drive-Thru Metal,” the audience chanted out “Drive-Thru Metal” (because Buffalonians can’t pass up a chance to chant ‘Let’s Go Buffalo’).
After performing “Sweet Beef,” Ronald explained the already mentioned reasons for the tour. He joked about partying with Metalachi down in Mexico and how they retired their t-shirt cannon out of respect for Maude Flanders. They later made a reference to “White Wine Spritzer” and Okilly Dokilly’s crazy keyboard player later on, wondering if he could come back on. For some reason, after performing “Lord of the Swirl,” which featured Ronald pulling a giant straw out of his pants and drinking beer, he made a Blue Velvet reference (Pabst Blue Ribbon?) before a lip synced interlude of Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams” where even Ronald acknowledged, “That was weird.”
In the spaces between the songs, Ronald essentially did stand-up comedy all revolving around bad food and restaurant puns, though he pretty much had to carry the show since Slayer McCheese and Grimalice couldn’t talk due to their costumes, and The Catburgler just doesn’t talk, he just made rimshots at the bad punchlines. I’m pretty sure at one point, he was just reciting the “The Duck Song,” (the one that goes “Got any grapes?”)
In all fairness, Mac Sabbath themselves do pretty solid Sabbath covers, capturing the various kinds of metal genres they spawned back in the 70’s. But when “Children of the Grave” becomes “Chicken of the Slaves,” complete with Ronald downing some chicken nuggets and slapping together metal spatulas, it very much becomes it’s own unique thing. The same goes for closers “Frying Pan” and “Pair-of-buns,” complete with Ronald eating the head off a fake bat.
I’m probably not looking hard enough as to when bands like these go out on nationwide tours, since I’m a fan of similarly comedic acts like Weird Al and Ninja Sex Party. I can legitimately see how someone came up with these bizarre ideas, both with and without the use of illicit substances. And I can see why each of them has legitimate cult followings. The three bands do well enough on their own, but playing all together in one night play off each other well. Okilly Dokilly brings the modern reference weirdness, Metalachi brings out the ethnic party atmosphere, and Mac Sabbath brings the bizarre politics/classic rock vibes. Certainly something to enjoy and laugh with for an evening.
Vans apparel company has confirmed the lineup for the annual Warped Tour. Festival creator and organizer, Kevin Lyman, announced the lineup at the Warped Tour’s artist announcement party live from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.
Before getting into video packages unveiling which artist will play on which one of Warped Tour’s several stages, Lyman touched on some of the negative social media post that started to circulated once the lineup leaked. Lyman said that they found who leaked the lineup, and asked, if you’re a professional in this line of work, respect the privacy and what so many have worked hard on since the conclusion of the previous year’s tour, and let the news come out naturally.
Set to appear at the 2017 installment of the tour is: Andy Black, Gwar, Hatebreed, Our Last Night, American Authors, Bad Omens, Sylar, Beartooth, Hands Like Houses, Bad Seed Rising, I Prevail, Blessthefall, New Years Day, Separations, Dance Gavin Dance, Sick Of It All, Memphis May Fire, CKY, Emmure, Fire From The Gods, Silverstein, William Control, and on limited dates, Bowling For Soup.
Warped Tour kicks off June 16, at the Century Link Stadium’s North Lot in Seattle, WA, and closes on Aug, 6, at the Fairplex in Pomona, CA. Warped Tour will make stops in New York on July 8, at Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh and July 13 at the Darien Lake Performing Arts Center in Darien Center. Surrounding areas that would make an easy road trip for New Yorkers include July 7 at the BB&T Pavilion in Camden, N.J. July 9 at the Xfinity Theatre in Hartford, CT and July 15 at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, N.J.
If there ever was a formula behind the iconic music of the 90s, many would say it would be “Guys with instruments & vocals” + “Guttural feelings” + “Garage.” While rock is not as dominant on today’s airwaves, some artists such as Rochester, NY’s Periodic Table of Elephants keep this classic formula alive and well. With Jason Pariseau on vocals and guitar and Sean McGinnis on drums, the Periodic Table of Elephants (PToE for short) puts together a rough guttural punch-your-boss-in-the-face sound sure to cause a riot at a pub or dive bar. As of a few months ago, PToE released their first EP titled Henry.
While PToE sights influences such as Green Day, Biffy Clyro and Blink 182, the vocals on this EP remind me of Smashing Pumpkins and instrumentals remind me of Canadian rock duo Death From Above 1979. What I mean by this is that Jason Pariseau chooses a guitar tone with a lot of bass in it to compensate for lack of a bass player, while Death From Above 1979 utilizes a bass guitar with various distortion pedals which yields a similar sound in lieu of a guitarist. Overall the production on the four-song EP was delightfully under-produced. Too often do you see up-and-coming bands using excessive production to polish their albums to the point where it no longer sounds organic. While this may boil down to preference, many purists prefer when drums hits aren’t 75 percent sound replaced.
In terms of the songs themselves on the Henry EP, the lyrics while straightforward, do the job in terms of connecting with the listener’s gut. The track “Better Off Dead” is the mosher’s anthem when played at a local show. The lyrics literally capture the intent of rage in the song with a lyrical pattern of coming back to a statement of physical action, each time increasing in violence. For example, things escalate from “I’m gonna punch you in the face” to “I’m gonna punch you in the throat” to “I’m gonna punch you in the dick”…ouch… Not the most poetic lyrics but the song was meant make an audience go wild. Out of the four songs on the EP, three of them are in your face and are very grungy while “Pile of Bones” is the one that breaks up that sound with something a bit softer and lyrically deeper. This is the track on the EP where PToE puts it all together in my opinion. It seems like Jason and Sean channeled their inner Foo Fighters on this track.
The Henry EP is a good start for Period Table of Elephants. As with any band’s first EP, this is the band trying to establish their identity and sound. The rough-around-the-edges feel will appeal to angsty millennials and Gen Xers looking for something that relates to their high school and college days. On the same token, this particular sound won’t appeal to those looking for mainstream appeal. With that being said, this EP is a tribute to the spirit of 90s alt rock…that RATM mantra of “F*ck you I won’t do what you tell me.”
St. Phillips Escalator is on the verge of releasing their long-anticipated sophomore album, The Derelict Sound. What’s more – it’s coming out on vinyl on Record Store Day. NYS Music met up with members of the Rochester-based rock band at Record Archive. It was easy to spot guitarist/vocalist Ryan Moore, with his signature newsboy cap and long sideburns, chatting with drummer Zachary Koch in the Archive’s Backroom Lounge. Friends since childhood, Moore, Koch, and bassist Noel Wilfeard were just out of their teens when they recorded their debut album Endless Trip with the help of members of garage rock revivalists The Chesterfield Kings. The 2015 EP Elevation was highly praised, with the one criticism that it was too short and left a reviewer wanting more. Now they’re just about ready to deliver.
Photo: John Myers
Paula Cummings: Tell me about your single “New Age.” Why did you choose this as your first release off the new album?
Ryan Moore: We have a heavier psychedelic sound to the other songs and this one was a little catchy. It’s one of my favorite songs on the album, I think.
Zachary Koch: We wrote it starting with the beat – it was an early Doors’ first record kind of beat – and based it around that with minor chords. It just came together. But the style definitely references them (The Doors).
PC: The single comes from the sessions for The Derelict Sound. How did you choose the album title?
ZK: We just sat down and had a talk one day when we were making some plans. We were really trying to think of what would represent the record. We’ve been together for years now and we reference music from different eras – modern and vintage – but it’s not understood by many people when they first hear it. It’s a derelict sound, an unused kind of overlooked sound… dusted.
PC: What was the writing process like compared to your previous works, the first album a decade ago and the EP two years ago?
ZK: As far as the way we write the songs, I don’t think it’s changed much since the beginning. Maybe somebody has a fully baked song or if it’s just a riff then we’ll work it out at practice.
RM: We usually know if a song works for our sound right away. We only just give it a couple tries with some because it’s like beating a dead horse with some. We’re like, “That would have been great but we know it wouldn’t work.”
ZK: We build on it together. It’s a collaborative process. Sometimes a single idea comes to the group and we know it works right away. We’ll get inspired with a song first and then play with it. We always had the power trio and blues thing happening, and on this we tried to bring it more into the psych genre.
RM: I would say this is a little bit darker.
ZK: The songs fit together well. We had 13 songs, but we cut it down to ten because some of them just didn’t fit that vision. They’re still good songs but just didn’t fit the feel we wanted for this one.
PC: How has your music matured over the years?
ZK: We have more life experience, so the content is different from our first record. We were just coming out of our teens. And now there’s more life experience. I have some political lyric writing. Ryan’s lived in New York and so has Noel, so we all have different life experience that go into the writing. I think the music process has been the same, but maybe back then it was a little unhinged, like “Let’s write and play” without having an idea first. It was fun. It’s always fun, but there’s more goal-setting. But the writing process, that’s the same. It’s always just fun at the heart of it all.
PC: You have this energy that comes across well in live shows. How did you try to capture that in the studio?
RM: The guy we collaborated with suggested we record it live. So what we did was we went to this place in Geneseo, Tempermental Recording. It’s this big old church and it’s really awesome. All of the tracks for the whole thing we recorded together. There wasn’t anybody separate.
ZK: That was the key. It was not just a live record, but the bass, drums, and guitar the core of it we played together because it’s the only way we could draw that energy. We tried before to record separately.
RM: It’s just not the same.
ZK: And allowing the big space… We need to play louder, so we don’t feel like we’re holding back. That space allowed us to be loud.
RM: Yeah, that was amazing. I think it was just one of the best experiences that we’ve had.
PC: That was my next question, how did the space enhance the acoustics?
RM: The guy who owns the church, he’s an insane collector, so it’s just full of guitars, and organs and pianos and drums and all those things are in the room, vibrating and making a sound as we’re recording, too. It’s really cool.
ZK: Even recording into the night that helped set the tone because it got dark in there.
PC: And in a space like that, you’re going to have a big, cavernous sound.
ZK: We used that to our advantage.
RM: And he had tons of cool gear that we were able to use. Echo on the vocals and vintage amps. But mostly we used our own stuff.
PC: Who did you work with, and how did they influence what you produced?
RM: Alex Patrick did the recording and the mixing. And when we were out of that studio Mike Brown (owner of Tempermental Recordings) hung out and gave us feedback.
ZK: He’s like-minded.
RM: We never met him before. We were renting the space from him, and he was just hanging out and interjecting. He came up with cool ideas.
ZK: Yeah, he’s really talented. He’s a guitarist and writer, so it was nice to get his perspective on things. It helped.
RM: Then Brian Moore mastered our tracks out at Red Booth Studios in Rochester.
ZK: Really helpful people, gifted. They have that patience I would never have to be able to engineer and mix. I just like playing.
RM: I just appreciate it so much.
PC: Which tracks are you most proud of and why?
RM: I really love “New Age.” I think that came out awesome.
ZK: I really like this track five. It’s called “Find My Way.” It closes out the first half of what will be the vinyl. And I think that it’s a different direction for us. It still fits, but in my mind it’s more of a modern song. It has a type of beat that’s different than what we’ve done. It’s this driving type of beat – you’ll see – but that’s one of my favorites from the record. Generally, a lot of our songs in the past have been four minutes. We get to solo a lot in this one.
RM: That song and the last song are kind of long, dark psychedelic songs. And I think the first song is one of my favorites, too, “Sleepy Silver Train Haze.” That’s just kind of a dark brooding psychedelic tune that feels a little sad.
PC: Is this your first vinyl? How does this fit the aesthetic of what you do and what you’re about?
RM: It fits perfectly.
ZK: It’s everything. We’ve collected, we were raised on it.
RM: We’re just huge record fans and I think it’s pained us to not have anything on vinyl yet. That’s one of the reasons why it took so long to come out. We were looking to find the right partner and in the end we did everything ourselves. We were going to wait as long as it took to make sure it was released on vinyl.
ZK: Vinyl gives the opportunity for the album artwork to shine. Ryan is an incredibly gifted graphic designer. He has a wonderful friend, a very generous friend, John Myers, who shot the cover for us and Ryan put it all together. That’s something that’s missing with a digital outlet. You can’t hold it and you can’t see the art that goes into it as well. But yeah, I play records every single day and to finally have one of our own is what we’ve always been going for. For our last EP Ryan and Noel were in NYC so we didn’t have as much time to get it all in line for vinyl.
PC: What are you listening to on vinyl?
ZK: We still listen to all formats. We just appreciate it the most and it sounds the best. But some of our favorite vinyl?
RM: My collection? I have some of my favorite old blues records like Mississippi Fred McDowell and the Blues Bakers. Cool rare blues records are some of my favorites. Then on top of that 13th Floor Elevators, The Seeds and some of the stuff that influences our band. It all sort of comes together.
ZK: And when I’m really sitting down and listening I really love to put on either Neil Young or The Byrds. I like listening to folk records on vinyl. I think it’s really befitting.
RM: We also started collecting some newer, modern psych bands on vinyl too. Morgan Delt, Black Angels. Anything that’s good sounds better on vinyl.
PC: Tell me about the album cover.
RM: We really had this idea that I really wanted this to be an out of focus picture of us, like a really blurry, just weird picture. I didn’t want just another portrait of the band. People either know us or they don’t, and I don’t care to have our mugs pegged on it.
ZK: And the photographer was able to do that without any special effects.
RM: We were just playing around. It was fun to go through a whole set of photos. We went picked the blurriest one that had a cool vibe. It’s got a cool grain and strange colors to it as well. And then I put just a small psychedelic treatment to it, kind of small off to the corner, kind of nondescript.
ZK: We never really had a set logo, and that little badge in the corner is kind-of new.
PC: You guys have been together half of your lives. What are some of the challenges you’ve had to overcome to do this?
RM: I think it’s because we were friends first. I think we became friends in junior high.
ZK: I think it’s been an advantage.
RM: I think that us looking out for each other and keeping each other in mind…
ZK: Feeling comfortable enough to share what turns out to be a really terrible song or a great song, but not being afraid of what you’re bringing to the table.
RM: Respect for one another.
ZK: When we play, we’re just hanging out. So we get to hang out with each other as friends but also as a band. It’s beneficial.
RM: Sometimes it gets tough though when you have to get work done, and you just want to have a beer and catch up.
PC: So you mentioned that Ryan and Noel lived out in New York City for a bit and you had to make that work long-distance.
RM: Yeah, that was tough. We weren’t as active during that period. But it also opened up some different opportunities because I met a lot of people in New York and we were playing a lot of gigs in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
ZK: And then we could just stay at Ryan’s.
RM: Yeah, it was easier then than it is now because we had a home base.
ZK: And then we rented an hour studio to practice in New York.
RM: We were still playing shows actively, but I think creation was the harder thing to do.
ZK: We would send things online, but we couldn’t really test them out.
RM: That was obviously the hardest part…
ZK: The productivity in the studio.
RM: But something about us being together for so long, we could book a show in New York or Rochester, practice once – or not – and play the show and it still sounds good.
Follow St. Phillip’s Escalator for news about upcoming show dates, news, and links to purchase the album.
Buffalo’s best kept secret is about to break out. Super American has been wowing the local music scene with its youthful energy and optimism. With two music videos out now and a debut album hitting the market on April 7, these boys are poised to top the indie pop scene.
Photo by Andy DeLuca
The core of Super American is Matt Cox and Pat Feeley, with friends helping to fill out on drums and guitar. NYS Music interviewed Cox to learn more about Super American’s peppy tunes, clever phrases and… pineapples?
Paula Cummings: Let’s start with the one burning question that’s on everyone’s mind: what’s up with the Year of the Pineapple?
Matt Cox: Before we started taking all the photos of our friends at shows, we all referred to the Year of the Pineapple as this sense of optimism for the upcoming year. When the year started, we didn’t have much of a choice, because we laid the foundation that this is the year of the pineapple. It’s a fun way to start the year.
PC: So people are bringing pineapples to the shows. What are you doing with all of them?
MC: When people do bring them to the shows, I’m not sure what they do with it. I typically leave it or I’ll pass it along. The last time we brought one out someone asked for it, so they take it and it makes its way to the bar or wherever it’s going.
PC: Tell me a little about how Super American started.
MC: We were working on songs about this time last year. We’ve been friends, Pat had in bands separately from myself and vice versa. It was something we talked about working on music together. We got together about this time last year and we haven’t looked back.
PC: So you guys were in separate projects, but ran in the same circles in Buffalo.
MC: Yeah, it’s a tight-knit community. We recorded our album through the spring of last year, we wrote it over the winter. We played a few shows in the summer. That’s when we gained the attention of Joe from the label, and put things on hold til the end of the year. And now we are going to release the album on April 7.
PC: I’m looking forward to it. Going back to the community, you’ve been working with Andy DeLuca. What was it like working with him for the music videos and promotional photos?
MC: Working with Andy, I personally grew up with Andy around the corner. He was a friend, and he was someone who inspired me at a young age. So I got to learn how to make music from Andy and learned how to be creative from Andy. Some of my best jokes were stolen from Andy, and at one point we were roommates. He just moved to the city, but seeing what he’s been able to do in a short period of time is awesome. When you have an opportunity to work with someone like that you let it happen, and you don’t take any second for granted, because he could obviously be spending his time elsewhere at this point. So we’re lucky to have him as part of our team.
PC: I think he’s captured your aesthetic – that retro feel-good throw-back to an earlier, simpler time.
MC: Definitely. When we made the video [for “Sloppy Jazz“] we didn’t have too much of a plan ahead of time. We just had an idea. We just went at it. And you just get out of the way of someone that talented who has a vision. He did an awesome job. The video he did was amazing.
PC: Did he also direct the video for “Congratulations?”
MC: He did. That was actually Pat’s idea. The stand still lyric video, which was cool. And Andy said where to sit and things like that, and he did the lyrics. We actually recorded those videos on the same day.
PC: On your band profile, you identify your genre as “Poolhouse Rock.”
MC: We were spending a lot of time this past winter in a suburb of Buffalo, in East Aurora. We’d go there every weekend just to get out of the city. There was a lot going on in the city. Sometimes it’s a bit repetitive and there are a lot of distractions. So we would go to East Aurora to get inspired, and not even just to write music. Our friend had a pool house that was potentially available to rent. So Poolhouse Rock is something Pat came up with. It’s about defining music, and removing yourself (from the label of a genre) to hear it objectively. So Poolhouse Rock works for Super American.
PC: How would you describe your music?
MC: We made a lot of effort to capture that same energy that we had in past bands that were a bit louder and more aggressive in an audible sense. So the energy, but a little easier to listen to. We made an effort to try and step up as musicians in this batch of songs we recorded, and I really hope we accomplished that.
PC: What I like about the album is that it’s pop and it’s fun, but it’s got a message to it.
MC: I’d say it’s a very friendly record. We wrote the songs all together. Our good friend Fred Cimato, who played in a band called Cute is What We Aim For for a number of years, really helped us when we were writing songs and arrangement and recording the album. Fred is intelligent when it comes to songwriting and producing. And Rob Grabowski, our drummer at the time, had a part in it. So it was a lot of heads put together for all the songs on the record. Our friends Fred and Rob recorded with us and were on the videos. Rob has moved to NYC and Fred is always down to help if needed. Now it’s Pat, myself, Steve Gardner, and Elliot Douglas.
PC: Where did you record the album?
MC: We were actually very fortunate in that aspect. We have a studio called CGR Studio that’s owned and operated by Robby Takac of the Goo Goo Dolls. It’s been around many years. Rob’s done a good job renovating the studio. He’s had people like James Taylor come here to record parts of his album and people such as Lil Wayne. That’s the reputation CRG has. We’re very lucky to have a place to make something like that. We recorded with Jay Zubricky, who’s a producer here in Buffalo. He engineered it, mixed it and produced it.
PC: What led to the signing with Take This To Heart Records?
MC: We were looking at putting it out with a label. We were looking for a team approach. Joe (the owner of Take This To Heart Records) was very nice to us. We have the same goals. He’s been getting us exposure on playlists. Working with Joe has been great so far.
PC: What are your band goals for the year of the pineapple?
MC: To live up to the standard of the year of the pineapple. And continue to grow as a band and as artists and grow as people. And if we’re able to do that then I think that those things our band looks forward to like touring and playing shows will take care of themselves.
PC: Anything else you’d like to add?
MC: I would suggest that people listen to the Del Paxton record. I highly recommend it.
Photo by Andy DeLuca
Disposable and pineapple-themed Super American t-shirts are available to preorder on Take This to Heart Records.
Upcoming Shows:
4/8 – Buffalo, NY @ Waiting Room
4/14 – New York, NY @ TBA
5/24 – Brooklyn, NY @ Shea Stadium
5/25 – Philadelphia, PA @ Alternative Underground
5/26 – Washington, DC @ Electric Maid
Taking Back Sunday announced a summer tour with Every Time I Die that will be book ended by dates in New York, opening in New York City and closing out in Utica and Buffalo.
Long Island’s Taking Back Sunday will head out on tour this summer with Buffalo metalcore act Every Time I Die. The 28 night tour takes them across the country and back, kicking off at New York City’s Webster Hall on July 14 and closing out on Aug. 19 with a hometown show for Every Time I Die at the Waiting Room Summer Stage in Buffalo. They make one other New York stop on Aug. 18 at the Saranac Brewery in Utica. The only other Northeast dates are July 16 at the House of Blues in Boston and Aug. 16 at Stage AE in Pittsburgh.
Joining Taking Back Sunday and Every Time I Die are New Jersey’s Modern Chemistry for the first half of the tour and South Carolina’s All Get Out for the second half. Every Time I Die will be absent from the shows on July 20 and 22 in Orlando and Jacksonville, Florida, respectively.
Prior to the start of the tour with Every Time I Die, Taking Back Sunday will perform at the Great South Bay Music Festival in Patchogue. New Found Glory, 311 and Saves the Day also play the festival.
As part of the summer tour, the band is offering VIP passes that give fans early entrance into the shows, a VIP laminate and lanyard, an embossed journal and bookmark and access to an acoustic set. The VIP tickets are on sale now through the band’s website. General tickets for the summer tour go on sale Friday, March 24 at 10 a.m.
Taking Back Sunday Summer Tour Dates
July 14 – Webster Hall – New York, NY *
July 16 – House of Blues – Boston, MA *
July 19 – Masquerade – Heaven Stage – Atlanta, GA *
July 20 – House of Blues – Orlando * #
July 21 – Jannus Live – St. Petersburg, FL *
July 22 – Mavericks – Jacksonville, FL * #
July 24 – Gas Monkey Live! – Dallas, TX *
July 25 – Tricky Falls – El Paso, TX *
July 26 – Rialto Theatre – Tucson, AZ *
July 27 – Hard Rock at the Pool – Las Vegas, NV *
July 28 – Obervatory North Park – San Diego, CA *
July 29 – The Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA *
July 31 – The Catalyst – Santa Cruz, CA *
Aug. 1 – Ace of Spades – Sacramento, CA *
Aug. 3 – Crystal Ballroom – Portland, OR ^
Aug. 4 – The Showbox – Seattle, WA ^
Aug. 6 – Knitting Factory – Boise, ID ^
Aug. 7 – The Complex – Salt Lake City, UT ^
Aug. 8 – Summit Music Hall – Denver, CO ^
Aug. 9 – Bourbon Theatre – Lincoln, NE ^
Aug. 10 – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN ^
Aug. 12 – The Intersection – Grand Rapids, MI ^
Aug. 13 – Crofoot Ballroom – Pontiac, MI ^
Aug. 14 – Bogart’s – Cincinnati, OH ^
Aug. 15 – House of Blues – Cleveland, OH ^
Aug. 16 – Stage AE – Pittsburgh, PA ^
Aug. 18 – Saranac Brewery – Utica, NY ^
Aug. 19 – Waiting Room Summer Stage – Buffalo, NY ^
* with Modern Chemistry
# without Every Time I Die
^ with All Get Out
Last Monday, we started with an field of 64 original bands from across New York State – some you’ve heard of, and some you might not know about. These bands were recommended for inclusion in our field of 64 by NYS Music staff, contributors and readers and we brought in bands from every corner of New York State, from Long Island to Buffalo, The Catskills to the North Country and all points in between.
NYS Music March Madness 2017 is a great way to discover a new and upcoming band in your area and show your support and love for bands you see often. We focus once again this year on the bands who are on the cusp of greatness. There was only room for 64 but we made some great choices and picked a wide array of genres to bring to you this year. Here are the elite bands that have made it through to Round 4:
Voting begins at Noon on Thursday, March 23 and ends at Midnight on Saturday, March 25. The Final Four begins next Monday!
We’d like to thank our regional sponsors The Hollow Bar and Kitchen, Nietzsche’s Buffalo, The Downtown Barn and Castle Studio. These small businesses represent the best of what New York State has to offer and celebrate music while inviting local and touring bands to perform for growing local scenes across the state.
We kick off the week with Round 3 of the 2017 NYS Music March Madness! We’re down to 16 teams out of 64 in our friendly tournament style competition for readers to discover new artists who call New York home.
The original field of 64 bands are those you might not know about, but should. Recommended for inclusion in our field of 64 by NYS Music staff, contributors and readers, we hit every corner of New York State, from Long Island to Buffalo, The Catskills to the North Country and all points in between.
NYS Music March Madness is a great way to discover a new and upcoming band in your area and show your support and love for bands you see often. We focus once again this year on the bands who are on the cusp of greatness. There was only room for 64 but we made some great choices and picked a wide array of genres to bring to you this year.
We’d like to thank our regional sponsors The Hollow Bar and Kitchen, Nietzsche’s Buffalo, The Downtown Barn and Castle Studio. These small businesses represent the best of what New York State has to offer and celebrate music while inviting local and touring bands to perform for growing local scenes across the state.
Round 3 voting begins at 12noon on Monday, March 20 and closes at midnight on Wednesday, March 22. Round 4 voting begins on Thursday, March 23 at noon. Vote now for your favorites and discover some of the great up and coming music that New York State has to offer!
Fans can pre-order the album and get an instant download of “FABA” and receive the album immediately upon its release.
Two weeks ago, we started with 64 artists from across New York State, now we’re here. Four bands from Binghamton, Buffalo, and a pair from Syracuse remain representing genres of prog rock, jam, reggae and drum fusion, bringing us into the Final 4 and home stretch of NYS Music’s March Madness 2017 friendly competition with these rising bands from across New York State.
While PToE sights influences such as Green Day, Biffy Clyro and Blink 182, the vocals on this EP remind me of Smashing Pumpkins and instrumentals remind me of Canadian rock duo Death From Above 1979. What I mean by this is that Jason Pariseau chooses a guitar tone with a lot of bass in it to compensate for lack of a bass player, while Death From Above 1979 utilizes a bass guitar with various distortion pedals which yields a similar sound in lieu of a guitarist. Overall the production on the four-song EP was delightfully under-produced. Too often do you see up-and-coming bands using excessive production to polish their albums to the point where it no longer sounds organic. While this may boil down to preference, many purists prefer when drums hits aren’t 75 percent sound replaced.
The Henry EP is a good start for Period Table of Elephants. As with any band’s first EP, this is the band trying to establish their identity and sound. The rough-around-the-edges feel will appeal to angsty millennials and Gen Xers looking for something that relates to their high school and college days. On the same token, this particular sound won’t appeal to those looking for mainstream appeal. With that being said, this EP is a tribute to the spirit of 90s alt rock…that 
Long Island’s