NYS Music 20​17

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  • ‘Salt City Limits’ Series Kicks Off this Friday at the Palace

    Austin City Limits began its run on PBS in 1976 as a way to showcase Texas artists. Its pilot episode featured Willie Nelson performing. Forty one years later, the show has become a television institution and the inspiration for the music festival by the same name. It is a destination gig for performers of any genre.

    In order to promote Central New York artists on a more wide-ranging scale, Syracuse area promoters Liz Nowak and Jordan Davies created Salt City Limits in the same vein as its Austin namesake to be initiated at the venerable Palace Theater on James Street. The series will be ongoing the last Thursday of every month at Funk ‘n Waffles Downtown. Each will be recorded and filmed by SubCat Studios and will be available on YouTube and the Salt City Limits website.

    The inaugural show takes place this Friday, March 24 at the Palace Theater in Syracuse and features eight local artists from various genres. Tickets are $20 and may be purchased in advance at the Sound Garden in Armory Square or online through the Palace Theater’s website.

    According to Syracuse.com, Nowak, who is also the executive director of the recently concluded SAMMY Awards, noticed many artists mingling and exchanging contact information throughout the event. The creation of Salt City Limits became an extension of that camaraderie. The SAMMYS celebrates the variety of music and talent available at the local level and Salt City Limits will allow this on a year-long basis.

    Artists participating in Friday’s kick-off include 2017 SAMMY Award winner for Best Country Artist as well as the People’s Choice Award for Favorite Band, Cortland’s Small Town Shade; Syracuse-based modern rockers Simplelife; Syracuse via Lawrence, Kansas singer-songwriter, Stephen Douglas Wolfe; alt-rockers the Stacy White Suite from Syracuse; Syracuse-based bluegrass band, the Easy Ramblers; SAMMYS Hall of Fame inductee Donna Colton with Sam Patterelli; soul-jazz-jamband and winner of the 2016 Brian Bourke Award for Best New Artist, the Lightkeepers and latin-jazz band Edgar Pagan’s GPL.

    The showcase continues downtown at Funk ‘n Waffles April 27 when Mike Powell, Just Joe and Castle Creek take the stage. Tickets for each successive show in the series will be $10.

  • Fundraiser for Albany Icon Greg Nash set for Thursday

    Greg Nash, a beloved Albany based drummer, recently suffered a massive stroke, and to help with medical expenses, a benefit will be held on Thursday, March 23 at the Hollow Bar and Grill on Pearl Street beginning at 5 p.m. The event is being advertised as “Love For Greg.”

    Greg Nash

    A group of local and regional bands are coming together to help their brother and you can check them all out for just $10, of which all the proceeds will go to benefit Nash. Saratoga rockers Wild Adriatic, as well as Super 400 and Sean Rowe will headline the event, which runs until midnight. Sly Fox and the Hustlers, Let Go Daylight, Soul Sky, The Erotics, Blackcat Elliot, Toys in the Attic, Dashboard Anthem, Last Daze, Under the Den, Vatrano Road, Two Guys, Herb Carter, Erin Hawkes and Luke McNamme round out the bill.

    Event organizers said they are making special t-shirts to be sold that will also help Greg Nash, drummer of local legends Ten Year Vamp.

  • Flashback: Phish at the Binghamton Forum, 25 Years Later

    On a Friday night in late March of 1992, the 20th to be exact, everything changed. Phish had more or less hooked me the prior July and I had worn through my tapes of Junta and Lawn Boy and the handful of bootlegs I had acquired. The band’s major label debut on Elektra, A Picture of Nectar, had just been released in February and that ragtag collection of songs, new and old, was also quickly absorbed into my consciousness. After a couple of missed opportunities, I finally found myself at a real live Phish concert.

    Listen along to a SBD of Phish from March 20, 1992 at the Binghamton Forum, courtesy of PhishTracks.

    Back in those days, before the internet and instant satisfaction, there wasn’t much available to prepare for such an experience. No Phish.net. No YEMBlog. No YouTube videos. No LivePhish. No listening to the show from the night prior, week prior or many months prior. More or less, I was going in blind.

    Nine month’s worth of anticipation and my excitement was bubbling over. Driving to the venue with my friend’s father, who was equally geeked, he was spouting off comparisons to Zappa (over my head) and telling of how he heard they jumped on trampolines in rhythm with music. Taking a pre-show bathroom break, I suddenly was peeing next to a few giggling hippie college girls. They were climbing in through the men’s bathroom window, sneaking into the show. This was an event, this was a happening and it seemed it wasn’t just me feeling it.

    The band took the stage in darkness. They broke the silence with a pair of deep monotonous notes, repeated a few times. Then a creepy falsetto “Wiiiiiiiilson” rang out and white lights hit Trey and Mike’s faces from below against the dark background. It was like a scene out of Spinal Tap or reminiscent of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Spooky, theatrical, campy. I knew of Wilson the character from other songs like “Lizards” and mentions of Gamehendge in A Picture of Nectar‘s liner notes and elsewhere, but I had never heard or knew of the actual song “Wilson.” In this light, I was freaked out by this opening sequence. I didn’t know what the hell was going on, but I loved it.

    My newb-iness would shine through repeatedly throughout the first set. Phish had just released Nectar, but it was a prolific period for them and they were already working out the material that would later become their next release, Rift. Though “Brother” wasn’t on Rift and it was heavy in the rotation dating back to the fall, it was new to me. Trey introduced it by making a joke about the orchestra pit in front of the stage. “This is the alligator moat up here, make sure you don’t fall into it.” Later they even changed the lyrics to “alligator pit.” None the wiser, I assumed the name of the song was “Alligator Pit,” a mistake that lived on months later when I acquired a recording of the show. I can still remember those tapes, with the deep red cover and Jim Pollock artwork, and the third song mislabeled as “Alligator Pit.” Later in the set, they would play the new song “Maze,” though I thought they were singing “living in outer space” and I can remember my friend and I dancing around the aisle singing along with the final chorus, “We’re living in outer space!” That was also mislabeled on my tape. Another new song, “Mound,” had bassist Mike Gordon purposefully goading the the crowd to clap along to it’s simplistic blues beat before mixing it up and leaving the crowd clapping instead on the off beat. Fooled again! After wild runs though complex and head-spinning material, when they landed on “Mound” I felt a bit of a relief with something a bit more straightforward. But that quickly went out the window when what I thought was a blues number turned into a zany, genre-less romp. It was like a “Mike’s Corner” column come to life.

    The first set was stocked full of Phish’s signature intricate instrumental gymnastics with “Reba,” “Glide,” the newly minted “Rift,” “Fluffhead,” “Lizards” and the set-closing “Run Like an Antelope.” Each was executed flawlessly. These are my baselines – when they can’t dismount on those or their ilk, points are deducted. Second song into the show and I was presented with a top-notch “Reba.” My baseline “Reba.” If it isn’t at least as good as this one, it isn’t all that great. And this one was incredible. A jam I know so well I can sing along.

    This whole show would serve as my Phish baseline. The versions of these songs would be what I would judge every subsequent version. The energy at this show was the energy upon which I would judge all others. This show, these versions and these memories hold up after countless listens 25 years and 100 shows later. It was a great show with unique touches throughout, setting a high bar to hurdle for future shows. It’s like eating your first barbecue at the Dinosaur BBQ, which I also did around this same time. While it isn’t necessarily the best, it sets an unusually high bar for the rest.

    And the care free, off-the-wall energy exhibited at this show is also my baseline. Drummer Jon Fishman came out to play trombone during “Antelope” and played a bagpipe hooked up to a vacuum cleaner during a cover of Syd Barret’s “Terrapin.” Weird and wild! They ended the show with instructions for a secret language intent on confusing random concert-goers. What in the holy hell?! The language was prompted by musical signals. One of the signals was the theme song from my favorite TV show at the time, The Simpsons, and I was blown away. These guys like what I like! When you’re a sophomore in high school, that is the pinnacle of cool. Another signal had the entire crowd and band simultaneously falling to the ground. I didn’t realize you could smile and laugh so much and so heartily at a music show. These guys were crazy and played by their own rules. And I loved it!

    After one near 90-minute set, I could have left and been completely satisfied. But it was only half over. And that second set started with “Mike’s Song.” It has been my favorite song to see live for as long as I can remember and I trace it, once again, back to this baseline show. To see “Mike’s” in those days was to see the perfect amalgamation of Phish’s energy, music and wackiness. On this night they opened with a hearty tease of Yes’ “Roundabout.” As an avid consumer of classic rock radio at the time, my heart almost stopped. Would they?  They wouldn’t. But what they did do… oh boy. Here came those trampolines my friend’s father spoke of. The stage was filled amply with smoke. Strobe lights flashed revealing Mike and Trey’s bouncing shadows amidst the white-out. The smoke would engulf the first handful of rows at least and the pounding bass, swirling organ and powerful drumming were your only guides. Some fans these days clamor for the return of the so-called ‘second jam,’ but I would rather see the the return of tramps, smoke and strobe lights during “Mike’s Song”. Trey’s guitar solo was drenched in feedback, bringing the energy to a fever pitch. Heavy, dark and glorious. I think my eyes may have just glazed over. The rest of the set was a blur of more oddball, genre-jumping, rule-breaking signature Phish-iness. Trey was certainly the hero, even if it was Mike’s birthday. But it was a lot of high-pitched noodling to absorb in one night for this sixteen-year-old. By the time their blistering cover of “Fire” closed out the night, my head was spinning from all the guitar. I had had my fill and was ready to go. But the next morning, I was primed and ready to go again. Fortunately, it would be less than two months later that they’d be playing my hometown for show number two.

    25 years and 100 shows later, here I am. The sheer volume of music introduced to me through this band, both directly and tangentially, be it Frank Zappa, bluegrass, jazz and so much more, makes this first show much more than just a first show, but a defining moment in a lifelong musical journey.

    Setlist via Phish.net

    Broome County Forum, Binghamton , NY

    Set 1: Wilson > Reba, Brother[1], Glide > Rift, Fluffhead > Maze, The Lizards, Mound > Run Like an Antelope[2]

    Set 2: Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove [3], Sanity[4], The Sloth, The Mango Song > Cavern, Uncle Pen, Harry Hood, Cold as Ice >Terrapin[5] > Cold as Ice, Possum > Secret Language Instructions[6] > Possum[7]

    Encore: Lawn Boy, Fire

    [1] Lyric changed to reference “alligator pit.”
    [2] Fish on trombone and Simpsons signal.
    [3] Oom Pa Pa and Random Note signals.
    [4] Band and crew nicknames shouted in intro. More names mentioned in ending vocal jam.
    [5] Fish on Bag-Vac.
    [6] Simpsons, Random Note, Turn Turn Turn, and All Fall Down signals introduced with Bowie being played in background.
    [7] Two Simpsons signals and an All Fall Down signal.

  • Holly Bowling brings Classical Phish and Grateful Dead to the Whisper Dome this Friday

    Holly Bowling is back on the road in March and after hitting Syracuse this week, she heads to a little known venue The Whisper Dome on Friday, March 24. The venue is a unique round room, perfect for jazz performances, and Bowling is excited to revisit the Capital Region as she does quite frequently, bringing with her classical reimaginings of the music of Phish and the Dead. Bowling chatted with NYS Music recently about the integration of Grateful Dead music into her setlists, performing with Everyone Orchestra and the musical handshakes that resulted.

    holly bowling whisper domePete Mason: How has integration of the music of the Grateful Dead and Phish changed since you began integrating the two and since you released Better Left Unsung.

    Holly Bowling: The setlists have gotten a little more Dead heavy. When I introduced Grateful Dead songs, the album wasn’t out yet, and it worked itself into the setlists gradually. The Dead have such a deep and extensive catalog and I continued to dig into that and add things to my repertoire. In general, the shift from playing all Phish and then Phish and The Dead together has opened up a whole new arc to each show and each set. As you know, as much as the two bands get compared to each other and lumped together, the music in truth is really, really different. There are some really touching and beautiful songs in the Dead catalog, and if you juxtapose a Dead song between a Phish song, you have to ease into each song in order to cover more stylistic ground in each show and make room for improvisation and bridging the space between the two bands and the place the music takes you.

    The other change is that adding in the Dead’s music, I’ve noticed the chord progressions are beautiful but they’re not incredibly complex. Some of those have been the hardest ones to work on. Having that in my catalog and adding into sets has taught me the importance of leaving space. Some songs in the Dead’s catalog are truly emotional for me – “Stella Blue,” “Wharf Rat,” stuff like that. There can be these delicate, very emotional moments and you can’t fill up all the space there. I’m really enjoying the variety that is coming with working with these catalogs both at once. It gives the shows more of an ebb and flow and opens the door for a good arc or storyline in each set. I try to put the sets together with a particular shape to it and you end up having more tools to work with in that way. There is still a balance between the two. I love the bands both very deeply.

    PM: In addition to your solo shows, you have been playing with the likes of Joe Marcinek Band and Everyone Orchestra.

    HB: I just played two shows with Everyone Orchestra in Charleston, SC and Asheville, NC. We played a bunch of Dead music together with Oteil Burbridge on bass (Dead and Company), Ian Neville on guitar (Dumpstaphunk), Natalie Cressman (TAB), Claude Coleman Jr. on drums (Ween), Wallace Mullinax (Dead 27’s), Mike Quinn, and Jeff Mosier on banjo (Blueground Undergrass), and we did an afternoon set called Everyone’s Dead with Matt Butler on drums, Anders Osborne, Oteil and myself. It was a great experience all around.

    PM: How have those experiences with Everyone Orchestra challenged you and affected your playing?

    HB: It feels natural. I hadn’t played with anyone in that lineup before. Matt will write a theme on his dry erase board and sometimes one specific instrument gets to lead a tune and make up the theme with Matt’s suggestion. To play a theme and meet these musicians through a musical handshake allows you to get to know people through performance, you start to hear everyone’s voice come through. Whoever starts out the song, you find out ‘This is your style, your voice’ and we find out what we sound like together. Then you hear their voice and you figure out how to add to it or complement it.

    The other things that was really cool about it is that no one is ever announcing what they’re going to do next, the most you can do is telegraph a chord change in a certain progression; if everyone moves to the 5, you know you’ll move back to the 1. It’s kind of a surrender, and instead of a group think and do the same move at the same time, if one person decides to go off in one direction, the group moves in that way. It’s different when you have a conductor and they’re at the controls of going to the B section. It’s unique and with someone calling the shots and conceptualizing where you want the show to go is a very different experience and it was really cool.

    PM: How did you come across The Whisper Dome?

    HB: We are always looking for piano rooms and also looking for unconventional spaces for a show. This happened in Portland at The Old Church and people walked out having never heard of the place and wanting to return. I like venturing outside the usual circuit of rooms that get played within our music scene. The style of music, by necessity, is a hybrid of different sounds so playing in jazz clubs, churches, clubs is reflects the variety of music. I think we found a picture of The Whisper Dome online from a jazz series they help and being called the Whisper Dome, it intrigued me. I think it’s good to change it up and give people an opportunity to have this grounding experience in a real quiet space can be really cool. Spaces like The Whisper Dome and really conducive to that kind of environment and listening atmosphere.

    PM: Todd Stoops (RAQ and Electric Beethoven) recently moved to the West coast and your hilarious airplane photo rivalry…

    HB: We’re gonna open an airline together. It’ll be expensive though, one customer per plane. (laughs)

    PM: Do you see yourself performing more with Todd now that he’s out west?

    HB: I feel like piano players don’t get to play together very often – sometimes there are two guitars in a band but rarely double keys. There’s an amazing movie Piano Players Rarely Ever Play Together that I highly recommend watching. It’s got Tuts Washington, Allen Toussaint, and Professor Longhair. You gotta check it out! But I digress. I’d love to play with Todd. Actually, I have side by side pianos in my living room currently – Todd, if you’re reading this, come over and play one of ’em! Double piano jams!

    Tickets are on sale now for Friday’s show at The Whisper Dome.

  • Hearing Aide: Spoon ‘Hot Thoughts’

    After what felt like an eternity, Austin-based indie rock band Spoon returns on St. Patrick’s Day with their ninth full-length album, entitled Hot Thoughts. They haven’t released a full album since their 2014 masterpiece They Want My Soul, which contains some of the best silver in Spoon’s musical vault. The gold goes to their 2007 record Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, which not only has some noteworthy songs, but truly put them on the map towards success and credibility as songwriters.

    This new 10-track release on Matador Records drives the band in quite a millennial-type of electronica direction, while maintaining the same pure frustration of garage punk that made us fall in love in the first place. Songs like “I Ain’t the One,” “WhisperI’lllistentohearit,” “Shotgun,” and the title track “Hot Thoughts,” can only be described as disco punk, with a driving rhythm section featuring bassist Rob Pope and drummer Jim Eno, that feels easy to dance to. Add in synthesizer effects that not only compliment a willful resistance, but also engage in a transient, almost Beatles-comparable element to balance out the aggression. Spoon properly confuses the listener, tossing in sample bits and adding artistic effect pedals to give each instrument its own voice and purpose.

    Sprinkled throughout the album, in tracks like “Pink Up” and the final song “Us,” Spoon throws us some instrumental curve balls, featuring cameo appearances from a strings section and a mysterious saxophone solo. In their sexiest tune and pre-released single “Can I Sit Next to You,” we hear a sarangi-sounding pitch bend technique by synth guru Alex Fischel. The arguably best song on the album, “Do I Have to Talk You Into It,” bestows upon us a somber intonation in singer and guitarist Britt Daniel’s voice, as almost a means of inner disapproval. The song’s lyrics are hard to pin to a particular event or substance, but its dark descriptions certainly contrast the overall uplifting feel of the song. Once again, this band tricks us into calling them a punk band, and then convincing us that they can do rock (and even jazz) just as easily. To say this band parallels the indie rock genre isn’t completely accurate, as they are always dipping their feet into deep musical waters, and surfacing with sensibilities similar to Trent Reznor, John Lennon, Chris Martin, and Miles Davis to create a multitude of concepts. This album shows us that Spoon is going in a new direction, but they remain true to their roots. This album features electric guitars, xylophones, honky-tonk pianos, strings, saxophones, and sampling experiments that mock existing ideas, while also creating new ones. This album represents the ‘hot thoughts’ that have been stirring in the brain of Spoon, and this album meets and exceeds expectations of anyone who listens to Spoon, or ‘indie rock’ in general.

    Just in time, Spoon is touring their way around the country, conveniently making stops in NYC for the annual Panorama Festival, followed by an appearance at the XPoNential Festival in Camden, NJ. For more info and to purchase tickets, visit Spoon’s band page.

    You can hear the full album on Spoon’s Soundcloud.

    Key Tracks: Hot Thoughts, I Ain’t the One, Do I Have to Talk You Into It

  • Round 3 of NYS Music’s 2017 March Madness

    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.

    Funktional Flow (funk n jam) vs Sly Fox & the Hustlers (rock)
    The New Daze (psychedelic jam rock) vs Raibred (Progadelic)
    Intrepid Travelers (improv/jam) vs Space Carnival (psych groove rock)
    Annie in the Water (acoustic rock) vs Ampevene (prog rock)

    Root Shock (reggae) vs Last Daze (black country rock)
    Barroom Philosophers (reggae rock) vs Chris James and Mama G (Ameribeat)
    Boogie Low (acid rock) vs Kimono Dragons (surf rock)
    Big Mean Sound Machine (funk) vs Formula 5 (jam rock)

    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!

  • Primus and Clutch Announce Summer Tour

    Primus has announced a slate of dates for July and August.  The band takes to the road with special guest Clutch starting July 17 in Charlotte.primus clutch

    Claypool and company have only announced one stop in New York State, July 21 at the Dome in Henrietta, just outside of Rochester. The two-month long tour includes a variety of stops across the country including eastern dates. in Raleigh, Detroit, Lancaster, Boston, Portland (Maine), Burlington, Asbury Park, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The July 27 show in Burlington is a part of the Lake Champlain Festival, which also includes Twiddle’s Tumble Down Festival.

    The tour heads to the midwest and west coast in August with dates in  Milwaukee, Mankato, Cedar Rapids, Kansas City, Dallas, Tempe, Las Vegas, Bonner, Troutdale, Eugene, Seattle and Stateline before closing the tour at the Greek in Berkeley on the 18th.

    According to Clutch’s website, both bands will be performing full sets with no openers or supporting acts.

    Tickets for these newly announced shows go on sale this Friday, March 24 at 10 a.m. local time. A pre-sale begins Tuesday, March 21 at 12 p.m. ET via Primus’s website.

  • Chuck Berry, Rock and Roll Pioneer, Dies at Age 90

    Chuck Berry’s name is synonymous with rock and roll. The singer-songwriter-guitarist got his start in the 50’s with hits like “Maybellene”, “Rock and Roll Music” and “Johnny B. Goode.” His music redefined the fabric of the musical landscape and provided inspiration to musicians for generations.  The legendary musician passed away on March 18 in his Missouri home.

    chuck berryBorn Charles Edward Anderson Berry in St. Louis Missouri in 1926, Berry was the fourth of six children in a middle class family. He was interested in music and entertaining at a young age, and began performing as a teenager. It was about this time he also started his lifetime conflicts with authority, landing in a reformatory until his 21st birthday. In 1948 he married Themetta “Toddy” Suggs,  and they had a daughter together in 1950. Berry began performing with local bands on the side of his day job to supplement his wages.

    chuck berryBerry’s break came when he met Muddy Waters in Chicago in 1955. Waters connected Berry with Leonard Chess of Chess Records. With the label behind him, Berry recorded “Maybellene.” The single went on to sell over a million copies and reach number one on Billboard magazine’s rhythm and blues chart and number 5 on the Best Sellers in Stores chart.

    Berry’s trademark songwriting elements, including driving beats and flashy guitar solos, became defining standards for rock and roll. He also helped shape the subject matter, with lyrics appealing to teenagers and consumer culture. His showmanship and attitude of defiance also became hallmarks of the rock and roll persona. Berry was a trendsetter for generations to follow, inspiring bands such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Beach Boys. His influence on the genre runs so deep that John Lennon once said, “if you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it ‘Chuck Berry’.”

    With a career spanning more than six decades, Chuck Berry recorded 20 studio albums and a dozen live albums. His contributions to the music industry garnered him such honors as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

    He is survived by his wife and four children.

  • Hearing Aide: Havok “Conformicide”

    Remember the days when music used to have some kind of aggression towards the normal and mundane of everyday life of conformity? Everyone is dressing, speaking, and even thinking the same. It can literally numb the senses to some human rights which we never knew which are robbed of like free speech and the removal of censorship.

    Havok ConformicideFrom the old muckrakers back in the day exposing the dangers of child labor in the factories, this type of political awareness has taken many forms and music has become the biggest medium to voice opinions on such issues. In the metal world, the genre that comes to mind being the most activist driven is no other than the monstrous force of thrash! Taking the most controversial subject matter in the media and turning it into an audio masterpiece can be difficult.  There is one band in the modern age of metal that pulls no punches when creating such volatile music, I am speaking of which the beast from Colorado, Havok, and with their new album dubbed Conformicide, it is time to break down the system with this album review. Get ready for one hell of a ride!

    Being the band’s forth studio album, Conformicide, delivers one of the best modern thrash albums to come out so far in 2017. Along with Kreator’s Gods of Violence (released via Nuclear Blast) and Power Trip’s Nightmare Logic ( released via Southern Lord), Havok’s latest release is adding their own special flavor to the genre. The boys did extremely well with their 2013’s release Unnatural Selection (via Candlelight). With it getting such great reviews from the old schoolers and new fans to the thrash genre, the band is showing absolutely no signs of taking the foot off the gas pedal. The album starts off with “F.P.C,” a rebellious hymn against the horrors of censorship and loss of free speech. The song starts off with a very funky bass line from Nick Schendzielos and a beautiful acoustic guitar riff  which helps to set you up  for a major beating of your senses. Combined with the groove induced drumming of Pete Webber, you will find yourself protesting in front of your local government building in no time flat with your faded battle vest as your flag of anarchy.

    My personal favorite track on Conformicide, which goes for the throat with jaws wide open, without a shadow of a doubt is “Dogmaniacal”. If you want something that is heavy and speaks about how the modern world is these days, look no further. This track addresses the violent  nature between the different religious sects in such a way you can feel the anger run through you body as the violent chugging with hypnotic shredding from both David Sanchez and Reece Scruggs on guitar  unmasks an ugly truth of human life. I listened to this song the most as it is the most addicting piece on the album in my honest opinion. There has been many times I was in the break room at work giving myself whiplash, but hey if this song doesn’t cause you to become a wind-turbine, I have no idea what will! In the next couple weeks I can this song being the favorite among the other tracks on this release; Sweet!

    Indeed the band first two albums Burn (released 2009 via Candlelight and Time Is Up (released 2011 via Candlelight), had their own type of  style that differs from  the band’s last two releases, but this album does have a great set of songs that combines both eras of the band styles. Tracks like “Intention to Deceive” and “Masterplan” combine the shredding aspects of Burn and Time Is Up with the more grooved oriented workings of Unnatural Selection, it will be ear candy for the fans who want the best of both worlds! This album for me is my favorite from the guys of Havok. I have not stop listening to it since I got it at the Soundgarden in downtown Syracuse, NY. If you think thrash is dead guess again! With Conformicide you are getting the same aggression the forefathers created in the 80’s, but with more of a powerful message as well a new approach. The thrash revival moment is gaining strength bands like Havok making waves leading the charge. Time to thrash one more time!

    I will give this album 4.5 stars out of 5 stars. It is a solid album from start to finish. If you have not picked it up yet you can get from your local record store or at the band’s page. Keep on thrashing!

    Key Tracks: Dogmanicial, F.P.C,  Masterplan

  • OmniZen Studio in Cohoes Set For Grand Opening

    Local artists looking to make their first professional recording or those simply looking for a change have a new option beginning this Saturday. OmniZen Studios in Cohoes is holding its grand opening Saturday, March 18 from 4:00 -8:00 p.m.

    Hosted by the owners, entrepreneurs and New York natives, Shane Morris and Peter Alexander, the grand opening located at 3 McElwain Ave. in Cohoes will feature local artists including Carl Daniels. Free food, beer and liquor will be on hand for those attending the event. Morris and Alexander will be on hand to answer any questions and discuss what they are looking to accomplish.

    OmniZen Studio will provide services in audio/video recording and editing, audio mastering, artist management and production and graphic design. OmniZen will also feature yoga classes during the studio’s downtime.

    Morris and Alexander met each other through a mutual friend and quickly found that they both share a love for music, artistry and people. The duo’s ultimate goal is to make OmniZen, an actual record label, and help mold local talent into the stars of tomorrow.

    Morris on his and Alexander’s plan for OmniZen:

    We plan to make this the best studio for artists that are trying to get up and running with their music, while also producing and managing artists. We plan to progress to a point where we eventually start a record label, where we will be using my connections with music industry professionals to shop artist and songwriters to major labels like Sony Music and Warner Music. Eventually, we also plan to develop a music engineering workshop for people to learn mixing and engineering skills. Further, this studio will be more than just a recording studio, as we currently have a professional graphic designer on staff, and Peter is a talented videographer who produces music videos and web series weekly. Going even further with diversity we will be hosting yoga classes in our studio during downtime. We are both Avid certified engineers (Avid is the company that makes Pro Tools recording software).

    Alexander on the upcoming venture:

    While attending school I gained much more knowledge and understanding on sound as a whole, my perspective has changed immensely. Also, I was able to connect with people and work live sound almost my entire time attending the new school. After finishing the course, I became a stay at home dad who currently spends most every evening building toward my dreams, goals, and putting together our recording studio in hopes to make our services the best available.

    Shane Morris is a native of Newburgh and was part of the College of Saint Rose’s Music Industry program, where he perfected his skills in Pro Tools and audio engineering.

    While attending St. Rose, Morris worked in several local venues as a live sound engineer including Valentines Music Hall, Red Square, and Legends on Pearl to name a few. Morris started DownBeat Music Group to record and do live sound after he graduated. He also gave private vocal and  guitar lessons during this time. In 2014, Morris worked the MOVE Music Festival in Albany as a promoter and sound engineer

    Peter Alexander is a Kingston native. During his time trying to get a solo career off the ground, Alexander managed other local artists booking studio time and shows as well as online promotion. Alexander worked live sound at local bars and venues while performing throughout the northeast for a year. After needing a change in his surroundings, Alexander moved to Albany. After just over a year in Upstate N.Y., Alexander became a certified Avid Operator in Pro Tools after attending the New School For Media for Engineering and Music Production.