It was an evening of milestones and memories on a Wednesday, Oct. 18 at Brooklyn Bowl. Before Hayley Jane and the Primates took to the stage to celebrate the release of their new studio album We’re Here Now, Primates bassist Josh Carter married his fiancé Kristen Detroia under a Stealie-style chuppah in front of family, friends, fans and Brooklyn bowlers alike. “She’s a summer love in the spring, fall and winter. She can make happy any man alive…” venue owner Pete Shapiro echoed the words of Robert Hunter and Bob Weir before inviting Dopapod front man and longtime friend of the couple Rob Compa to share the story of how the two met some ten years ago.
Following the off the cuff and personal tails of Compa, Shapiro oversaw the vows and pronounced the couple husband and wife. Josh and Kristen Carter kissed, broke glass, and then remembered to exchange rings at the end. The crowed cheered at the completion of the nontraditional, public, and yet adequately personal, Brooklyn Bowl wedding ceremony. Shapiro encouraged the crowd as he and the wedding party walked off the stage, “Now lets rock!” And just like that, the world was introduced to the opening act for the evening, The Brooklyn Bowl Wedding All-stars. Keeping up with the friends and family feeling of the evening Dopapod’s Eli Winderman and Rob Compa, Pink Talking Fish’s Richard James, and Kung Fu’s Adrian Tramontano and Chris DeAngelis madeup the wedding band to end all wedding bands. They formed a funk fueled five-some covering everything from Stevie Wonder to The Rolling Stones, and even invited Primates guitarist Justin Hancock to join them for The Allman Brothers Band’s “Blue Sky.”
With the night already full of high points the stage had yet to be graced with its evening’s headliner. Hayley Jane and the Primates were welcomed by the Brooklyn City crowd with great excitement and anticipation. The set highlighted the bands new album and spanned their versatility. Along with soaring guitar solos, intricate bass lines, and steady drumbeats Hayley Jane’s soulful voice and colorful lyrics filled the room. The Interstellar Dancers added an interpretative dance flare backing up the front woman’s signature choreography.
Of course the evening would not be complete without a series of on stage collaborations. Rob Compa was first to join adding his stylings to the sixth track off of the album”We’re here Now” titled “You Gotta Move.” Up next were two of Hayley’s friends from the band’s hometown of Boston on steel drums and percussion. They added to the reggae sounds of “Man Acrylic.” Eli Winderman jumped back on the organ and surprise guest Elise Testone stood along side Hayley Jane for a vocal jam on the track “Make It Alright.” A few songs later another appearance by Richard James on the last two songs “Hey Mister” and “Hurricane Jane” would close out the set.
As Hayley Jane and the Primates walked off, the city that never sleeps met the empty stage with chants for one more song. They would acquiesce and then some. The first of the two song encore “To the Moon” was a slower ballad brought to life by Jane’s glowing personality and glowing moon prop she held in hand throughout the song. The second song of the encore, and final song of the night, featured every guest the stage had featured for the event. It amounted to a sixteen person (including dancers) “I Can Do It (Poo Jam).” The audience chanted along “I know that I can do it…” as the wedding/friends and family reunion/album release show came to its end. It was truly a special and unique night at Brooklyn Bowl summed up best by the words of Hayley Jane herself, “What a lucky bunch of creatures who can run around and dance if we want.”
Patchogue Village, The setting of incredible nightlife teeming with live entertainment! Walk down Mainstreet Friday and Saturday nights and you’ll find yourself immersed by one of Long Island‘s greatest music scenes.
Surrounded by avid clubs and music venues dawning bright lights, all host such enthusiastic musicians and performers. One in particular performs to achieve one simple objective: Give em’ what they want! This is the essence of the solo act that is Rob (the guitar guy) Baione.
Step into Patchogue’s neighborhood restaurant and bar The Tap Room located at 114 W Mains St, and you’ll immediately feel a warm environment and feel-good vibes creating the mood for the place where Rob entertains his local audience.
When becoming a solo act, songs began to take on a new life when stripped down to an acoustic guitar and a vocal. Selections range from classical to country, rock to rap, folk to metal, etc. There’s a song for everybody. Audiences are always entertained by his charisma and ability to include them in the show!
One way Rob the Guitar Guy does this, is by allowing the audience to choose the songs. “It’s like having your own personal jukebox. No one wants to leave when they hear ‘their song’ played.”
Each show is unique and you never know what to expect! But one thing is for sure, you’ll always leave feeling good, and that was definitely the case last week at The Tap Room.
You can find Rob performing there the 3rd Friday of every month, with a musical repertoire growing larger and larger each return!
Driving up the long dirt road to Page Farm, you start to realize just how far away from civilization you are. The trees get thicker, the houses scarcer. This comes as very good news because things get a little crazy once the sun sets on Wild Woods Festival.
This small festival comes from the minds of Greenvibe Entertainment and founder Ryan Dubois. In its fourth year, Wild Woods had its best year yet, unfolding August 11-13. There’s something amazing about this place that you just can’t seem to put your finger on. It has an almost familiar feel to it.
The campgrounds are tucked away in the forest, trails winding through with lights hanging overhead for when the day gets dark. As you walk out from your site, you pass a vendor village with treasures and trinkets of all kinds. A little further, you pass through a towering gate into an open field. Surrounded by trees on every side, you can’t help but feel at home. Every inch of the grounds feels like the woods you played in as a child. Except here, there was a wonderful lineup of music to be played.
Strange Machines kicked off Friday with a bang. I said it last year and I’ll say it again this year: these guys had the best dance party of the weekend. Not to say it was the biggest, but the crowd was definitely dancing the hardest. Kung Fu gave us a huge dose of funk before the sun set on Page Farm and things took a very different turn. Supersyllius was joined by Lespecial for his “Lifeband” set. The main stage closed with a long intimate set from Papadosio. The crowd was really feeling it. The stage may have been small but The Reliquarium display that surrounded the stage was lit with mapped visuals. The night ended with sets from Lespecial, Esseks and Jade Cicada, rolling everyone into the early morning.
Saturday was really quite a surprise. The threat of rain was constant and lightning in the distance was alarming at times but never came too close. Honestly, it made the whole night that much more memorable. The slight drizzle that came with it danced off of the lights and lasers. Local favorites, Harsh Armadillo, really brought the crowd to life that evening. It’s really hard not to dance to their high energy funk. The same could be said though for Hayley Jane and the Primates and Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, both giving the crowd incredible shows. Hayley Jane was accompanied by her good friends in The What Collective. Their choreographed dancing was a really cool touch for the Primates’ set.
New Hampshire’s own Roots of Creation played a very unique “dubtronica” set for the crowd. This is something the band is pretty used to playing. They love to put their own spin on the dub/reggae sound so it was a real treat to be able to get a lot more out of this set. Greenvibe was really proud to have Papadosio join the Wild Woods lineup this year, and the crowd was more than thankful. Their incredibly beautiful and deep tracks filled the field with violin and heavy bass sounds. The whole festival was in attendance for this set. The night finished with a huge set from Mr. Bill and Govinda played us deep into the morning with his mesmerizing tracks. Music bounced off the tents and tarps until the sun rose.
The weekend was full of fun and laughter. The Wild Woods fam is a real thing, a real feeling you get after a weekend with these characters. Hopefully Wild Woods will return next year. If so, we can be sure that it will continue to live up to its name.
At times, the music industry can seem like a viciously preposterous environment, kind of like a Sharknado movie sequel only with amplified instruments and egos, laptop computers and seven-dollar plastic water bottles sucked into a funnel cloud with the slimy sharks. But every now and then, a musician emerges from an overseas humanitarian mission or a music promoter decides to plant trees for each ticket sold to an event, or a festival books performers based on integrity as well as talent and name recognition. And in the state of Colorado all of those can be found in the confines of one event, the Arise Music Festival, held last weekend August 4-6 at the scenic Sunrise Ranch near Loveland.
“It’s not called the Wake Up Festival for a reason,” piped up festival co-founder Paul Bassis. “We want to bring in as many people and performers who are already awake.” Organizers and staffers of the Arise fest set an intention of blending entertainment with community activism, consciousness-raising workshops and thoughtful environmental stewardship in a way that they hope separates their event from the rest. The festival’s moving opening ceremony featuring Native American dances, African drumming and prayers offered an immediate and rousing example of that intention.
And the Arise message seems to be getting out to the public. Last weekend’s event sold out for the first time in their brief five year history. One music group, Rising Appalachia, split a European tour in half just so they would be able to make a return appearance to Arise this year. Alan Bartram, the stand-up bass player for bluegrass music favorites the Travelin’ McCourys, was impressed with the number of workshops offered over the weekend. “There was even a workshop on how to hula hoop with your elbow,” he commented with a baffled expression.
Though the festival’s rust-colored mountain valley was raked by a daily series of rain and windstorms, the spirits of brightly colored festifarians remained buoyed by a wide ranging lineup that included EDM favorites like Tipper and rap musicians like Brother Ali. Fans of folk and bluegrass flocked to sets from Ani Difranco, Rising Appalachia and the frenetically improvisational Jeff Austin Band. Austin’s band joined with the McCourys for a spirited bluegrass tribute set to the Grateful Dead as well. The performance talent wasn’t limited to the musician sets either. Acrobatic acts like Fractal Tribe and Lunar Fire combined grace, athleticism and captivating aerials along with live music and fire performances throughout the weekend.
The Arise festival sets a unique tone and atmosphere that is both fulfilling and fun. And its participants long for what surely will be a whirlwind of a sequel next year.
Phish played the intimate Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh on Thursday. The small indoor arena on the University of Pittsburgh’s campus was a nice respite from the scorching heat outside. Fresh off the band’s opening run in Chicago and a one off show the night before at a similar style arena in Dayton, Ohio, the band offered up a unique show featuring some bustouts, new songs and jam or two in unexpected places.
The crowd was locked in and was giving back the energy, which was first very apparent during one of the better versions of “The Divided Sky” in quite some time, with the crowd completely losing it during the pause. The first set ended with “Prince Caspian”. It seemed like it would be a standard set closer but the band decided to give the Magnaball Caspian a run for its money and they took it deep. The jam first sounded like it could have came straight out of Maganaball’s Drive-In jam, before picking up speed into a Pink Floyd-like groove before it escalated into some soaring solos from Trey.
After getting things started back up again with a “Punch You In The Eye,” the band played the Trey Anastasio Band song “Mr. Completely” for only the second time. This was the jam of the night as the band played patient and loose while drummer Jon Fishman was the backbone, keeping it driving forward with momentum. This kind of relaxed jamming from the band usually doesn’t happen until the middle or end of the tour so it was very promising to see. Next up was a pairing of the rarely played but often loved “Mercury” into a new song called “Come Together.” They then went into a more song based portion to end the show, with solid versions of “Contact”, “Steam” and “Backwards Down the Numberline” being the highlights.
Phish heads nest to New York City for their 13-show residency at Madison Square Garden.
07/19/2017 • Peterson Events Center • Pittsburgh, PA
Tour: 2017 Summer Tour
Set 1: My Soul, NICU, Halley’s Comet, Undermind, The Divided Sky, Marissa, Home,Prince Caspian
Set 2: Punch You in the Eye, Mr. Completely, Mercury> Come Together, Contact, Axilla,Steam, Backwards Down The Number Line
Brooklyn-based band Escaper recently released their debut album, Skeleton Key. Escaper consists of Will Hanza on guitar and vocals, Johnny Butler on saxophone, Adam Ahuja on keys, Jay Giacomazzo on bass and Andrew Nesbitt on drums. This seven track album takes listeners on an unpredictable stroll through exploratory tones, multicolored rhythms and colorful melodies full of airy notes that leave songs wide open for improvised jams to be interjected during live performances. A unique element to this record is that the band laid down all the tracks in one day, with one take each, at The Bunker Studio in Brooklyn, NY. Each musician simultaneously played in separate rooms, beautifully capturing the raw essence of a live performance.
The first track, “Skeleton Key, Pt. 1,” eases listeners into the album by playfully winding back and forth between light, jazzy beats and kaleidoscopic intonations. Picking up the energy, “Mutiny” lays out the vibes with heavy drums, deep bass and extended guitar notes that wrap around jazz infused keys and saxophone tones that linger on the edges of euphoric spaces, creating a relaxed mood for the listener.
“Lighthouse” throws out crunchier funkadelic rhythms, begging the listener to sway back and forth to the beat. Punchy keys start out this refreshing track before flowing into a combination of jazzed out saxophone and trippy guitar. Once again, deep bass and tight drums keep the musicians in line throughout the melody. The fusion of so many genres puts Escaper into a unique category, blurring the lines between the jazz and jam scenes.
A slow building “Night Crawler” is fully stocked with short bursts of brisk notes that tap dance their way through the tune, picking up varying musical elements that effortlessly move around the sweet-sounding melody. “Narwhal” glides around smooth jazz beats that flow on the edge of picturesque tones merged by the guitar, sax, and keyboard.
The album wraps up with “Skeleton Key, Pt. 2” in a way that highlights breathy sax and a splashy guitar/key combo before an energetic “Castles” brings the music to a close. Overall, this debut album is filled with fluid compositions that will come alive during live performances due to the spacious range left open for improvisational play. A solid package of laid back, uncomplicated tunes that seamlessly run the gamut from jazz to jam with touches of psychedelic grooves that will ease any listener into a relaxed mood.
For more information regarding Escaper and their new album, along with tour dates, please visit their official web site.
With well loved music festivals being forced to fold their cards and encountering unfortunate mishaps in an ever-growing and highly competitive field, it’s both refreshing and reassuring that Stephentown, NY’s Disc Jam 7 can boast a laid back atmosphere and tightly-woven, yet growing community and still come out on top. A jam-packed, 4-day musical jaunt with a star-studded lineup attracted herds of fans from all over the Northeast and then some. Nearly 4,000 flocked to the cozy farm for a potpourri of funky jam headliners, late night producer and DJ sets, skilled vendors, a hula hooping and fire spinning flow tribe, on site artists and food trucks to keep festival dwellers happy, well-fed and entertained.
Thursday set the tone for the sunny weekend ahead, as Albany’s Lord Electro warmed things up on the CEG stage, before Strange Machines welcomed the booming voice and bubbly personality that is Hayley Jane, for the first of her many sit-ins as artist at large. Just after their set, they hopped on Teddy Midnight’s RV, also accompanied by a hot tub, for a quick interview on Teddy TV, which we later found out doubled as a surprise, late night party bus.
NYC trio Lespecial jumped up on the main stage to deliver some night-time grit and grime as Thursday night headliners. Their odd time signatures, heavy tunes and musical fortitude brought fitting teases of Tool, Rage Against the Machine and Primus’ own “Cannibal Holocaust.” After the help of Dopapod drummer Neal “Fro” Evans on the genre bending “Enter Sandman” into “Sandstorm,” the trio closed out their headlining performance on the main stage, riding the wave of symbiotic high energy between fans and artist.
Friday found a string of New York state bands representing their native stomping grounds into the early evening, including an all-star lineup of Aqueous, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, Wild Adriatic, Chromatropic, Leila, Litz, The Motet and jamtronica four piece Teddy Midnight, who rolled out phish teases and a number of stellar covers of The New Deal, STS9 and a pair of hard-hitting Disco Biscuits tunes, “Rock Candy” and “Tricycle,” proving Wiley Griffin can absolutely man handle a guitar. Over on the tent stage, Litz worked their magic to hype up the crowd while the saxophonist alone had enough personality on hand for the whole group. A sound malfunction forced immediate improv with bongo and guitar solos. Doing so seamlessly, the group dove right back into the jams once all issues were resolved and held down their set like true musicians and professionals.
The excitement for Friday night’s headlining Dopapod set loomed in the air as other festival favorites, Kung Fu, took the stage. Beau Sasser and company brought an arsenal of just that to the stage at Disc Jam this year for their one of a kind “Sunset-Set.” With Disc Jam 7 being their 6th time playing the festival, Kung Fu has been a fan favorite of the fest since 2012. That being said, the Fu you now groove to in 2017 may not have been the same back in 2012. With fresh tunes and a familiar sound, the group proved why they get invited back every year to the ever-growing festival. Kung Fu welcomed Hayley Jane during their set to perform Joan Jett’s “Reputation,” or for Freaks and Geeks fans, it’s notable theme song while their full set jammed through a slew of songs such as “Chop Suey,” “Joyride,” and a set closer of Steely Dan’s “Charlemagne.”
In past years, Dopapod have been known to deliver two sets to the festival they’ve been with since its culmination seven years ago. Unfortunately a gig in Colorado called for the festival veterans to head out early but not before offering up an eye-opening set that had all on feet and moving to the zips Eli’s keys and defined head bobs. Adorned in a blue Dopapod hoodie, Rob Compa took to the front row of the crowd to incite fan engagement, asking what songs they’d like to hear. After a “Trapper Keeper” suggestion and “Nerds” being loudly projected to the forefront of the stage, they launched into none of the above as they continued with songs of their choice. While the hour and a half set didn’t boast a laundry list of material, each delivery had a flair of its own and incorporated lengthy jams throughout, leaving fans both thankful and energized. Fans were treated to an opener of “8 years,” new track “Mucho, classic Dopapod hits and two-bit favorites “Priorities,” “Trickery” and “Cloud.”
Feeling wired post-Dopapod, a two hour “after party” ensued at the tent stage with the Motet’s uplifting and encapsulating music. Their kinetic energy and signature style made it impossible to stand still, as everyone underneath the tent found a dance partner in the strangers to their left and right. Paired with groovy visuals on the back wall of the tented stage, the Motet provided time travel through the decades with their genre-spanning music. Just in case anyone let out a yawn or felt their bodies slowly yearning for sleep, singer Lyle Divinsky doubled as hype man for the group, spewing catch phrases into the mic and pumping up the crowd as he stalked back and forth across the front of the stage.
With late night sets and DJs playing through the early stages of the morning, many found their way back under the tent to witness the magic that poured out of the tips of Holly Bowling’s fingers. While first depicting psychedelic visuals to pair with her compositions of well-loved jam tunes, Bowling offered the audience a “behind the scenes” look at her performance with a special camera placed in front of her hands. Viewers were able to watch her fingers tickle the instrument as she raced her hands back and forth while banging on the black and white keys, all while sporting a quirky smile on her face. It’s evident that Bowling is not only great at what she does but that it embodies the happiness she feels inside. Her takes on Grateful Dead, Phish and The Disco Biscuits found sweet symphonic sounds mimicking “Franklin’s Tower,” “It’s Ice,” and “Magellan” among others. Thankfully, this wasn’t the last we saw of the all-star pianist.
With at least one expected day of rain, the only dampening of the weekend came from the early morning dew and spilled beer across widely spread campsites. If you even attempted to get some sleep between the late woods parties and the beat boxers dressed in all black outfits adorned in glow sticks, the sun was enough to jolt you up out of your increasingly heated tent making you feel just Bearly Dead, or at least awake enough to go catch their early morning Grateful Dead tribute set–a slot they held at the tent stage all weekend. As Saturday progressed, Consider the Source took on their late afternoon set on the main stage, gathering a large crowd regardless of the fact they had a highly anticipated late night set scheduled for 2am. Ripping through well-known source tracks like “This Dubious Honor,” “Many Words of Disapproval” and “Closer to Home” paired with the wailing of instruments and heavy emotion written across their faces, the trio proved and surpassed reasons why they deserved two slots at disc jam. Never missing a note and playing the most difficult instruments and arrangements, consider the source managed to put a spin on their already involved tunes, oozing mastery musicianship.
Wild Adriatic brought their Saratoga Springs flair to the Disc Jam stage as declarations of “getting my hair like that guy’s” were made in the crowd, referencing to the stellar afro rocked by bassist Rich Derbyshire. Keeping it in the Capital region, Formula 5 boasted an unforgettable set, complete with a sit in by Holly Bowling and an emotional Allman Brother’s Band tribute cover. Drawing a solid, dance-ready crowd, Formula 5 brought the jams to those swaying back and forth on feet as well as those sitting and relishing in the moment. Bowling sat in for “Floating” as the group made what was the only Gregg Allman tribute of the weekend at the time, with an impassioned selection of “No One to Run With.” Mister F kept the upstate grooves going directly after, despite their recent misfortune of being down a tour van and itching to get new music out to fans, Scott Hannay showed his chops and delivered hard on keys before treating fans to a late night surprise.
Anticipation struck Gardner’s Farm for the party that Turkuaz was about to unleash on its weekend inhabitants. Making their rounds on the festival circuit, the 9-piece power funk ensemble offered harmonica stylings and powerful vocals with a groovy dance party to match. Shira Elias and Sammi Garrett have been getting more and more attention and for good reason. Their dialed up vocal chops, coordinated dance moves and soulful sound give enough reason as to why–plus, a cover of The Band’s “Don’t Do It” didn’t hurt.
Saying the tent stage was filled to capacity for Break Science Live would be an understatement. When they took the stage on Saturday night, the original duo of Adam Deitch and Borahm Lee reeled in a humongous crowd as well as support on stage when they were accompanied by a handful of Lettuce members– Erick Coomes on Bass, Eric Bloom on Trumpet, Adam Smirnoff on Guitar and Ryan Zoidis on Tenor Sax. The super group, paired with an intense light show captivated the audience with a combination of trip-hop, dub and jazz which found the tent jumping as a unit. During their set, Manic Focus joined Lee on the table to help with DJing, which brought a unique sound to an already extraordinary group of musicians.
A 2am set drew in a rather large and sleepy crowd underneath the tent stage. Known for their magical history with performing late night festy sets, most of the audience knew to place their blankets and tired bodies on the floor to witness an amplified, yet scaled back Consider the Source set in a more intimate setting with calming visuals to match. Two girls, however, missed the memo and kept prompting everyone to “stand up and enjoy the music” while others retaliated with, “but it’s a seated performance!” Nonetheless, all in attendance found themselves in awe at the mastery level in which the trio plays. Having checked off deliveries of stirring tracks, including one they learned during their trip to India and haven’t played since, Jeff Mann, John Ferrara and Gabriel Marin know how to nail a performance through tempo, chord progressions, arrangement and elements of surprise.
At the same time Consider the Source was delivering their intimate set to a lulled crowd, Teddy Midnight’s surprise RV party bus was at full force. Disc Jam artists swapped on and off the luxury bus, playing tunes from the backside of the opened vehicle and slithering guitar necks in between its doorways. Joe Davis and Matt Richards of Formula 5, Scott Hannay of Mister F, Adrian Tramontano of Kung Fu, Wiley Griffin of Teddy Midnight all took a musical ride on the bus.
As silent discos were offered into the premature minutes of the early mornings, Saturday night/Sunday morning offered listeners a stroll through the Techni-colored woods to “No Diggity” as one looked around and noticed life in the woods is a bit different than out on the wide open spaces of the farm. After placing a pair of silver headphones over your head, you were welcomed into a wooded world of festival dogs, multiple pin boards circulating and growing raves.
Sunday morning’s sunrise guided everyone to their tents for a quick nap ahead of the final day of Disc Jam 7. Upon awakening and being lazy around camp, the opening notes of Dopapod’s “Bubblebrain” trailed widely across the farm, conjuring many to the stage. Quickly, it had to be discovered who was playing such a top-notch delivery of the unique track. To the surprise of many, it was a group of kids from the ages 11-18 in Zachademy of Music All Stars, including a young boy with luscious blond locks, reminiscent to that of Formula 5 bassist James Woods. A mind blown audience watched as kids half the age of the festival goers shredded through a difficult catalogue including covers of Vulfpeck, Consider the Source and Kung Fu. Dopapod’s Compa went forth to share the “Bubblebrain” video to Facebook, announcing that even he messes up his guitar solo at times and further affirming the true talent boasted by the all stars.
Around noon, a very talented group new to the scene took the tent stage and made it their own. New Paltz’ The Other Brothers brought a unique sound to the festival, drawing a nice crowd to their set that blended a variety of genres. As always, Chris Owen was able to captivate the crowd with his larger than life vocals and impressive dance moves while Bera, Marquez, Morrison, Nelson and Mendelson kept every groove as tight as possible. Where one song took on the structure of a love ballad, the others were sure to get toes tapping and hips swiveling, gaining a new circle of Disc Jam fans. Be sure to check out this humble group on the rise, you won’t want to miss these brothers in a city near you before they ultimately break through. They’re currently out in L.A. recording their spirited music at the famous Sound City Studios.
Comparable to the tunes of Twiddle and their upbeat feel, Annie in the Water proved to be the fun 5-piece they are with a super involved set– a smorgasbord of sit ins by Holly Bowling on ‘Carry the Burden,” “Girl Let’s Dance,” with Twiddle’s Dempsey and Hannay of Mister F as well as Hayley Jane and Meadow Eliz offering assistance on “Crispy.” Keeping the theme going, a bulk of talent joined the Twiddle side project known as Gubbulidis. The group’s name derives from the combination the two members; Zdenek Gubb on bass Mahali Savoulidis on acoustic guitar and vocals. Usually all the two need are some loop pedals to make their sound one that very few could duplicate but to add depth to their one-off set, the power duo was joined by a plethora of talented artists such as the other components of Twiddle, Holly Bowling, Honeycomb, Billy Comstock of Annie in the Water, Wiley Griffin of Teddy Midnight and two members of Mister F; Colin Shore and Scott Hannay, making their Disc Jam set one of a kind. The full performance, which pieces together “Juggernaut,” “Rocky Raccoon,” “Mad World,” and more, can be found on Archive.org.
Later on in the day, a tent stage party was hosted by none other than G-Nome Project. The Israeli-based Livetronica Electro-Funk band rocked the tent and everyone inside with their synth-heavy instrumental tunes. Resembling jams taken on by trans-fusion/jam bands such as The Disco Biscuits, Lotus and Phish, G-Nome Project appealed to the masses, zeroing in on a unique blend of genres and inverted jams with covers of tunes from Game of Thrones, Lotus’ “Livingston Storm,” the Biscuits’ “Abraxas,” and Phish’s “Frankie Sez.”
Pink Talking Fish helped round out the festival with a Sunday evening performance, rotating their famous Pink Floyd, Talking Heads and Phish covers to an appreciative crowd. Mixing up the music of three undeniable bands in the scene, treats came in all sizes with covers of “One in a Lifetime,” “Run Like Hell,” “Mother,” “Rift” and “Harry Hood.” To close out their set, guitarist Eric Gould and artist manager brought out his latest guided talent, Hayley Jane to end with the second and final tribute to Gregg Allman with a moving version of “Soulshine.”
Neal “Fro” Evans, Holly Bowling and Hayley Jane certainly made their rounds throughout their four days on the farm, collectively marking an impressive number of sit ins. Evans brought his skill on the kit to help Lespecial and Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad on stage. Bowling spent time jamming with Electric Beethoven, Formula 5 and Annie in the Water while Hayley Jane notched an impressive sit in count of nine, with a TLC “Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls” cover alongside Roots of Creation and appearances with Strange Machines, Bearly Dead, Aqueous, Congo Sanchez, Kung Fu, After Funk, Pink Talking Fish and, Annie in the Water. Her final performance with Ryan Montbleau tucked Disc Jam 7 into bed and put the weekend to sleep with one last performance as Yes Darling, as they ripped through a set of original material.
An intimate experience and independent effort, Disc Jam 7 sure packed a punch of a weekend before coming to a close. Every year, Disc Jam sees exponential growth and although it’s tucked away in the cozy knolls of Stephentown, NY, it’s small town aesthetic and low maintenance atmosphere is exactly what keeps fans coming back for more. When you step onto the farm, you step into the Disc Jam Fam–a world in which you meet and click with those you cross paths with if only for the weekend, a world in which you most likely already know an abundance of people there. After a widely successful seventh year in operation, those who self-identify as Disc Jam Fam left Gardner’s farm already mapping out next year’s detailed blueprints for Disc Jam 8.
You find yourself in bed with the wind screaming outside your bedroom window like a banshee. Shadows dancing and morphing into sinister shapes upon the walls . Indeed the world is different once the warm embrace of the sun abandons us in the hands of the unknown abyss. Demons both of man and out of this world come out to play. Seducing the weak and creating nightmares that no man should ever experience, but there will always be some who seek out these dreaded apparitions. For them there is a soundtrack that catches the beauty of the night, I am speaking of Danzig’s 2017 release Black Laden Crown (released via Evilive Records). Here is another album review for those who love all things metal and dark!
Black Laden Crown is Danzig’s first original album since 2010’s release of Deth Red Sabaoth. The album features Glenn on vocals as usual and Tommy Victor behind the devil’s axe. You have Johnny Kelly, Joey Castillo, Karl Rokfist, and Dirk Verbeuren featured on this release for drumming sessions on the album. Recorded at East West Studios in Hollywood, California, Danzig once again generated his own brand of metal mixed with blues with the help from the undead! The track that really sets the mood for the album is the first single, “Devil On Hwy 9,” which first premiered on Full Metal Jackie’s show Whiplash on April 02, 2017. This song starts with a strong, straight for the throat blues-induced attack. The guitar solo by Victor and the slow bass playing really creates that sense of becoming dangerous for the listener. The drumming on this track by Castillo is a savage skull beating, which no man can help but feel the tribal need to go out on a hunt. With the lyrics being so simple and addicting, fans will imagine themselves behind the wheel on a forbidden highway with demons flying by and cursing through the night. With Glenn’s vocals being so raw and deeply disturbing, it gives the track a real element of morbid obsession. A perfect song to drive late at night. Just make sure you keep your eyes on the line!
With “Devil On Hwy 9” being such a direct approach of pure danger and blood boiling elements, we see this element in some other songs like “But A Nightmare” (Dirk on drums). Now we all do love Danzig for his slower stuff as well. I am a blues and a metal fan at heart, but sometimes the slower songs can be much heavier in terms of approach compared to the aggressive counterparts. With the second single “Last Ride,” it has that eerie sensation running down your spine as if death is waiting for you to greet him in your blacken room. It is very much in the veins of Black Sabbath and The Doors with the slow bass line and a wall of sound from the experienced mixing hand of Chris Rakestraw, which helps develops the vibe of the track. You see this same direction on the final track on the album, “Pull The Sun.” These two songs contain so much dismay and loathing you will find yourself drinking to these tunes at the bar with your friends. Pray that it is not your last drink my friend!
This album is a solid release from start to finish. This album is perfect for both metal fans and blues fans. With so much influence from past and new releases, this album is in my top ten of favorite albums to be released halfway through 2017. This album gets 4.5 out of 5 stars in terms of production, lyrics, and imagery. If you haven’t picked this beauty up, then you are missing out on something that is both dark and beautiful. Pick it up now through the Danzig official site.
Key Tracks: Last Ride, Devil On Hwy 9, Pull The Sun
Brooklyn Bowl, the iconic music haven in the heart of Williamsburg, served up some delicious sounds last weekend, courtesy of a mashup of two giants in the jamtronica world. Breaking Biscuits is the name of this super group which is comprised of Aron Magner (keys) and Marc Brownstein (bass) of Disco Biscuits fame alongside renowned drummer Adam Deitch and Borahm Lee (keys) who together form Break Science, an emerging force all their own. As a sparse crowd of people took their hacks on the bowling lines on the other side of the room, the dance floor was full of attentive listeners and dancers enjoying everything this uber talented side project had to offer.
The show featured two opening acts in Upright Man, a relatively new act formed in the halls of NYU’s music school, and Space Bacon. The latter of which was an ideal choice for an opener as the Disco Biscuits influence was palpable in some impressive jamming that saw virtual hat tips to Bisco staples like “Morph Dusseldorf” and “Basis for a Day” with a noticeable “Funkytown” tease thrown in for good measure at some point. But the main course was served via two sets of precise and enthralling electronica orchestrated by some of the best in the business.
With Deitch and Brownstein setting much of the rhythmic foundation, Lee and Magner seemed to go back and forth, trading incendiary leads and emptying out all the tricks their respective keyboard rigs carried. While it didn’t quite have the raging intensity of a Bisco show, both sets featured constant downtempo grooves that were more than easy to move along to as well as selective covers of some of the genre’s finest like Air’s “La Femme D’Argent” and RJD2’s “The Horror.” This was only the second night of a short three show tour, after playing only once before that, but it seems as if these artists have formed a collective that yields a unique sound that also pays respect to its forefathers in the electronica scene.
Joywave unveiled the music video for “It’s a Trip,” the first single from its upcoming album, Content. The lyrics of this catchy surf rock song are laced with dark humor. What should be a fun day at the shore becomes commentary on wasting time trying to please someone else. The video captures the concept of the song by showing the members of the pop quintet aging progressively. The video was directed by up-and-comers Ghost + Cow Films, with makeup by Ben Bornstein.
Visit Joywave.com to download or stream the song, or to sign up for their email list.
The LP Content is out on July 28.
The quintet from Rochester will spend August and September touring across the U.S. with Young the Giant and Cold War Kids. Their only show in New York State currently scheduled is in Central Park on September 13. Touring information and ticket information can be found on the Joywave website.
Following the off the cuff and personal tails of Compa, Shapiro oversaw the vows and pronounced the couple husband and wife. Josh and Kristen Carter kissed, broke glass, and then remembered to exchange rings at the end. The crowed cheered at the completion of the nontraditional, public, and yet adequately personal, Brooklyn Bowl wedding ceremony. Shapiro encouraged the crowd as he and the wedding party walked off the stage, “Now lets rock!” And just like that, the world was introduced to the opening act for the evening, The Brooklyn Bowl Wedding All-stars. Keeping up with the friends and family feeling of the evening Dopapod’s Eli Winderman and Rob Compa, Pink Talking Fish’s Richard James, and Kung Fu’s Adrian Tramontano and Chris DeAngelis madeup the wedding band to end all wedding bands. They formed a funk fueled five-some covering everything from Stevie Wonder to The Rolling Stones, and even invited Primates guitarist Justin Hancock to join them for The Allman Brothers Band’s “Blue Sky.”
Surrounded by avid clubs and music venues dawning bright lights, all host such enthusiastic musicians and performers. One in particular performs to achieve one simple objective: Give em’ what they want! This is the essence of the solo act that is 
The campgrounds are tucked away in the forest, trails winding through with lights hanging overhead for when the day gets dark. As you walk out from your site, you pass a vendor village with treasures and trinkets of all kinds. A little further, you pass through a towering gate into an open field. Surrounded by trees on every side, you can’t help but feel at home. Every inch of the grounds feels like the woods you played in as a child. Except here, there was a wonderful lineup of music to be played.
Brooklyn-based band Escaper recently released their debut album, Skeleton Key. Escaper consists of 
Black Laden Crown is Danzig’s first original album since 2010’s release of Deth Red Sabaoth. The album features Glenn on vocals as usual and Tommy Victor behind the devil’s axe. You have Johnny Kelly, Joey Castillo, Karl Rokfist, and Dirk Verbeuren featured on this release for drumming sessions on the album. Recorded at East West Studios in 
The show featured two opening acts in Upright Man, a relatively new act formed in the halls of NYU’s music school, and Space Bacon. The latter of which was an ideal choice for an opener as the Disco Biscuits influence was palpable in some impressive jamming that saw virtual hat tips to Bisco staples like “Morph Dusseldorf” and “Basis for a Day” with a noticeable “Funkytown” tease thrown in for good measure at some point. But the main course was served via two sets of precise and enthralling electronica orchestrated by some of the best in the business.