NYS Music 20​17

Tag: Lou Reed

  • Songsmith C.K. Flach Talks about His Songwriting and What Inspires Him

    Curtis “C.K.” Flach — pronounced flack — has a look and sound to him that clashes with today’s world. But, when he opens his mouth, people listen.c.k. flach

    The 25-year-old Coeymans Hollow native often takes to the stage dressed one necktie away from a job interview, with a clean white shirt and sports jacket, topped with a whimsical head of hair reminiscent of a flamboyant Jerry Lee Lewis.

    But, flamboyant, he is not. Though people may want to mispronounce his name as flash, there is little flashy about Flach, but the self-described “quiet kid” commands the stage like a master craftsman at work in the backwoods, strumming his guitar and sharing stories of struggle through a voice others have compared with the late Lou Reed.

    The association with Reed is no mistake. As Flach started listening to music as a musician, he came across Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side,” and thought he could learn how to develop his vocal range through the late artist. “I felt I could learn a lot about what to do vocally by listening to him,” he said. “Then I found that I really, really like his writing style, how bold it was, and just went from there.”

    Reed’s music was often described as avant garde. Credited as one of the pioneers to the punk rock genre that started in the late ‘60s. A rebel renowned by music lovers of today, but woefully underappreciated by critics of today. Upon his death in 2013, Rolling Stone magazine apologetically held vigil by tweeting and reporting about his every last moment. But, in the past, the magazine was one of his harshest critics. So goes Reed’s style and polarizing persona. For the deadpan singer sharing stories about drug addicts and social misfits, there was no middle ground. People either loved him or hated him.

    “He’s a tough guy rebel. He’s the godfather of punk rock. You listen to him talk, he’s got that New York accent. He’s got a toothpick in his mouth while he’s playing on stage. Yeah. A real rebel. I don’t see myself like that at all. I’m quiet, to be honest with you. I don’t really stand out like that. I’m a pretty nice guy, I think. And, really shy at times as a kid. It’s amazing that I get up on stage and sing in front of people.

    Flach was born and raised on a steady diet of classic rock. He started drumming when he was ten. He only learned to play a few chords on the guitar when he was a teenager. By 2012, he was out of high school and in a band he started with his brother, called “The Kindness.” Then he started to songsmith.

    As a songwriter, Flach said he draws inspiration from what is around him: the landscape, lifestyle and people here in the Hudson Valley. Flach started singing and writing for “The Kindness,” which released an EP in 2015. That immediately took Flach to a solo project that produced “Empty Mansions” in 2016.

    Flach prefers to describe himself as a songsmith, because he sees himself more as a craftsman that is considering all aspects of music and not only the lyrics. Standing front and center on stage, he is wrapped in layers of song structure, lyrics, tone, and delivery. The placement of the bridge. Where to start the chorus. How does it relate to the previous song.

    “It’s important to think all of those things through,” said Flach. “I think the difference between writers and craftsman is that [a songsmith] thinks of all the angles, and tries to approach it as a total project and not just song. … I like that term “smith” because it makes me feel like a craftsman. That’s important to me.

    Flach began writing songs that spoke of social strife — politics, racism, division and corruption — and stories of love, loss, heartache and salvation. He said he was heavily inspired by Reed’s critically acclaimed album “Berlin,” which does the same. Stories, he said, that come through the “eyes of empathy.”

    “It’s an interesting world we live in,” said Flach, who said he doesn’t feel today’s pop music speaks to today’s problems — drug addiction, financial struggles and Washington politics. Though, he said, music is often an escape for some people, “but I also know there’s a place for songs to be realistic,” he said. “Sometimes things happen that we prefer didn’t. I think having a song or two about it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. It might be comforting at times to have that relatable song that we can go to that helps us square up with reality and be aware of what’s going on around us. Another part of it comes through the eyes of empathy. Because, there are people out there who are struggling, and go through different things than we do. They may not have a use for a poppy song. It doesn’t really reflect their life at the moment, and I hope that anything that happens to someone, that’s not quite ideal, is temporary. Maybe in that moment, they could use a song or two that speaks from where they are coming from. … That place of empathy is where I’m coming from.”

    Flach said opportunities have presented themselves to him since the release of “Empty Mansions.” Aside from opening this year’s MOVE Music Festival with a sold out show at Cohoes Music Hall, people have approached him about collaborating. Though he is currently writing for another release, no timetable is set for a second album just yet. He plays next at the Dana Park free concert series on Monday, Aug. 7, with Let Go Daylight and Two Guys in Albany.

    This article was originally published by The Spot 518.

  • Extensive Lou Reed Archive Donated to NY Public Library

    American singer, songwriter and musician, Lou Reed, will soon have his archive of various unreleased material available at the New York Public Library. Reed’s wife Laurie Anderson told the New York Times that she didn’t want Reed’s work to get lost in an archive that only people with white gloves could see. Reed, a Brooklyn native and Syracuse University alumnus, died at the age of 71, on October 27, 2013 from liver disease.

    lou reed archivesIncluded in the archives, is an estimated 600 hours of demos, concerts, and poetry readings, from throughout Reed’s career. The archives also consist of more than just recordings, as there are several various types of paperwork and photographs in the collection.

    Wanting for everyone to see the big picture, Reed’s wife Laurie Anderson first contemplated putting the works online before finally deciding to hand the collection over to the library for public viewing. The archive will take at least a year for the library to catalog, and make available to the public. The works can be found in the New York Public Library’s performing arts branch, the Library for the Performing Arts, at Lincoln Center.

    Reed’s recordings date back to near the beginning of his career in the mid ’60s, when he was on the verge of his Velvet Underground Days. There are around 3,600 audio recordings to go along with 1,300 video recordings. Another cool thing about the collection that music historians love, is that the collection of recordings, shows the evolution of the recording industry for over a half of century, from reel-to-reel tapes, cassettes, digital audiotapes and finally, computer hard drives.

    lou reed archivesWhen Anderson was going through the tapes with hired archivist Don Fleming, some mysteries were brought to light. There is a reel of Velvet Underground, with handwritten notes “Delightful,” and “Gas,” that Fleming believes may be from Warhol. In May of 1965, In an even bigger mystery, Reed mailed himself a five inch reel-to-reel tape. The box remains unopened to this day, and it’s contents on the reel unknown. Fleming thinks this may have been an attempt for Reed to establish a copyright for the material.

    Anderson and Fleming went through the archives for almost three years. Anderson noticed a New York Times article about the library having a program that is able to digitize archival material, giving her another reason to reach her decision on what to do with the collection.

    Anderson stated about her late husband’s work to soon be viewed at the NYPL:

    Lou is kind of Mr. New York. This is the city he loved the most. It doesn’t make any sense for him to be anywhere else. Then what’s the best place in New York? This is the best place in New York. I just love that somebody who is so loud is in the New York Public Library.

  • New York Artists Make a Splash at 2017 Grammys

    Talk of the 2017 GRAMMYs will center on Adele’s profanely humble request to re-start her tribute to George Michael so she can “get it right for George,” Beyonce’s cinematic performance of “Love Drought” and “Sandcastles” from her universally acclaimed album Lemonade or Bruno Mars’ role as the Purple One in the joyous celebration of Prince that also included Morris Day and the Time. The televised portion of the awards is the show, with the focus on performances and the marquee categories. However, there was a slew of awards presented throughout the weekend that weren’t televised. NYS Music detailed a number of the New York-based honorees and nominees in December. Many took home Grammys this weekend.

    2017 grammysThe late David Bowie was nominated in five categories for his groundbreaking album Blackstar and won all five. Taking home the Grammy for Best Rock Performance, Blackstar, Best Rock Song, “Blackstar,” Best Alternative Music Album, Blackstar, Best Recording Package, Blackstar, and Best-Engineered Album, Non-Classical, Blackstar.   Bowie had never won for his music throughout his storied career prior to this year. In his later years, the Great White Duke maintained a residence in Woodstock.

    DJ duo the Chainsmokers, Andrew Taggart (a Syracuse University graduate) and NYC native Alex Pall, were nominated in three categories – Best New Artist, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their single, “Closer,” which also features Halsey on vocals, and for Best Dance Recording for their single, “Don’t Let Me Down,” featuring Daya – ultimately leaving with a win in the Dance category.

    2016 Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan was nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, Fallen Angels, and for Best Historical Album, The Cutting Edge 1965-1966: The Bootleg Series, Vol.12 (Collector’s Edition), winning for Best Historical Album.

    New York-via-Texas transplants, Snarky Puppy were also nominated and won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for Culcha Vulcha, an album NYS Music reviewed last year. The jazz fusion band made several stops in New York last year, breathing new life into the genre. You can read our review of Snarky Puppy’s Syracuse stop last year here.

    Perhaps one of the most powerful performances of the night came from Queens natives a Tribe Called Quest who were joined by Busta Ryhmes and rising rap newcomer Anderson .Paak to perform “Award Tour” and “We the People.”  An empty microphone stand was present in tribute to fallen Tribe member Phife Dawg, who passed away last March.

    The performance with Rhymes delivering a particularly scathing diatribe of President Trump and the executive order signed to prevent people from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. It concluded with a parade of people of varying ethnicities entering the stage to cheers from the people in attendance.

    Art rock pioneers the Velvet Underground were honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award, an award few would have imagined for the band in the burgeoning New York City art scene of the late 1960s. The late Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison, former roommates at Syracuse University, along with Welsh-born John Cale formed an early version the Velvets, called the Worlocks in the mid-60s. Cale was in attendance at Sunday’s ceremony to represent the band.

    The Velvet Underground was a band that never achieved significant commercial success. But as producer Brian Eno once said in an interview, “everyone who bought one started a band.”

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