The latest installment of Rochester Indie Musician Spotlight starred critically acclaimed award winning saxophonist Jimmie Highsmith Jr. In this, the eight installment of season 5 of the series, Highsmith is interviewed by host Dan Gross before playing a selection of smooth jazz songs. On the stage, Highsmith is joined by Dave Labman on keyboard, Mark Terranova on bass, and Bruce Pitts on drums.
Rochester Indie Musician Spotlight hosts live events, which are free and open to the public. Episodes are recorded at Bop Shop Records at 1460 Monroe Avenue in Rochester from 7-9pm. Jon Lewis will finish out the fifth season and mark the series’ 50th episode on April 27.
One of the most integral people in planning this summer’s Curveball festival featuring Phish is the president of Watkins Glen International, Michael Printup, who took the time out of his busy schedule to give an interview to NYSMusic.
This will be the third festival the band has held at the track most famous for NASCAR racing. In 2011, there was Superball, followed by Magnaball in 2015. Like those two, Curveball is a three-day event taking place August 17 to 19 this year.
Printup shared some interesting tidbits about Curveball and about his history with the rock band born out of the mountains of Vermont. His first interaction was back in 1998 when he was the general manager of the Providence Civic Center while Phish was on, what has now become, the legendary Island Tour. It was the first time he saw the band live, but his biggest takeaway wasn’t the music.
“I mean, it was a small arena,” Printup said. “What I remember most was the fans. They’re just — they’re just so awesome. I noticed the respect and dedication of the fans, and I saw that the band respected the fans in a great way. It shows in what they do, all the planning they put into putting on these large-scale festivals. I’ve been in sports for my entire life — the NFL, Southern California, Miami, Boston — and you don’t see that kind of thing between the fans and what they’re coming to see like you do with Phish.”
That observation has directly led to the relationship that the Phish organization has with Watkins Glen. It was back in 2016 when the planning for Curveball began. Printup said that Richard Glasgow, a member of Phish’s management team, visited the site and began the discussion of a festival in 2018.
“Richard and I talk at least once a month,” Printup said. “I was in Las Vegas the same time Phish was there in 2016. They realized I was in town and they invited me to attend a soundcheck. So there I was, with like six other people in the empty arena, and they’re just up there jamming.”
That type of relationship bonding has made doing business with Phish a breeze, Printup said. At Magnaball, he recalled, when the band was walking off stage just before the weekend’s final encore, the band stopped by for a “quick hello” and then invited him stage side for the encore.
Printup, who is very professional and has a knack for teasing things without giving them away, touched on a variety of topics. For starters, he did confirm that the fan favorite event — in the past titled the Runaway Jim 5K road race — will happen again this year. He mentioned that the band had inquired about a parade, but would not give any more info on the subject.
One of the things fans have wondered about since Magnaball was the capacity of the venue and the ticketing situation. It was announced prior to the festival that all tickets had been sold and none would be sold at the gate. However, many ticketless fans who showed up were able to buy tickets from the venue at the gate. Printup explained that when the sellout announcement was made, the racetrack was only allowed by officials to cap the capacity at 50,000 people. A late inspection of the venue took into consideration the bathrooms and showers that are at the track year round, thus allowing an extra 10,000 to be added to the max capacity. Printup did not have the information as to whether or not all extra tickets were sold.
For Curveball, though, he insisted that fans don’t wait much longer to buy their tickets. While for a NASCAR event they’re prepared to handle 160,000 people, it’s not the same for a music festival.
“I have spoken to Red Light Management and Phish, and they highly recommend buying soon,” he said. “The max we can have is 60,000 per day, and Richard (Glasgow) has said sales are going very well.”
The discussion then flowed into how Phish puts on their well documented secret sets. At each festival since The Clifford Ball in 1996, the band has done an unannounced or special set. At Superball, they performed the Storage Jam at about 2 a.m. on Sunday morning in a storage shed they had on grounds. Magnaball featured the fan-favorite Drive-In Jam, which was a merging of visual art projected onto a large screen draped from the bleachers, while the band performed an all-improvised set behind the curtain.
When asked if he could give the fans a hint, or even speak off the record about what Phish has in store for this year, Printup was emphatic and filled with laughter. “No way!” he said.
Printup gave loads of credit to the local community for the help and support for the weekend.
“There is a big trust value between everyone,” he said. “There’s so much that comes along with something like this. Our local sheriff knows how to handle it all, the traffic and stuff like that. Our goal is not to inundate the community, but involve them.”
He said he’s only heard positive things from the locals, who genuinely enjoy when the Phish crowd comes to town. Printup said that he will sometimes check some of the band’s message boards in the week leading up to the festivals and everything has been positive.
It’s no secret that Phish fans like to party when they experience the band. Printup said that the crowd isn’t that different from other music crowds, but did warn that people trying to be nefarious might want to reconsider.
“Country fans, EDM fans, they like to have fun as well,” he noted. “But I know how many undercovers there will be out there. I wouldn’t take that kind of risk and possibly be arrested. Obviously booze isn’t going to get you arrested, so I just hope everyone is smart about having fun that weekend.”
But overall, Printup said that we are all in for a very special time, with a lot of new features to keep fans engaged.
“I’m most looking forward to the show, of course,” he said. “And I want to give the band a huge thank you, because they’ve just been awesome.”
NYS Music is proud to launch Empire State Music Podcast bringing our audience the best of bands from across New York State. With host Andy Hogan, the podcast can be found on Soundcloud and will bring the best up and coming musicians from around the state, established acts and the local voices that tie together the various music scenes from around the state. Hogan, a Buffalo resident, will host the podcast, his second after What Was I Saying? and one that Hogan sees great potential for.
“If nothing else, I hope this podcast contributes to the never ending effort of continuing to unify the music scene throughout NYS. There are so many incredible local acts throughout the state that are made up of some really cool cats who, in my opinion, deserve a platform to be able to really express themselves; what makes them tick, and where their creativity comes from. In order to do so, I want to get to the roots of these bands and musicians; not only how they get to where they are, but how they fit in to the grand design of music history in America, and where they are headed down the line.”
While a student at SUNY Geneseo, Andy hosted a weekly radio show which eventually became What Was I Saying?, which he co-hosted with Paris Peters. The podcast took a back seat while Andy joined Ponder (formerly Ponder the Giraffe), but has since been reborn with a new focus on the bands and artists from across New York State, as Empire State Music Podcast. Listen to episode 1 with Tough Old Bird, a folk band out of Western New York.
Long Island metalcore outfit Call It Home are on the verge of releasing their debut full-length album Better Days. The latest single “Deserter” made this week’s Alternative Press “9 Songs You Need To Hear This Week” list. Lineup changes have brought long-time member Dom Delfino to the helm of clean vocals and lyric-writing, resulting in a fresh new sound that appeals to both new fans and long-time followers. His bandmates are Chris Christofi on harsh vocals, Jay Schwartz on guitar, and Jon Beane on drums. NYS Music spoke with Delfino in advance of the album release and upcoming tour with This Curse.
Paula Cummings: How does the new album compare to your previous work?
Dom Delfino: It’s still the same sound, but more mature. It’s more technical in the instrumental work, more interesting for the listener. There’s a little sampling of piano/synth, and a little dub step in there. We also have a few different guest vocalists, which we haven’t done before: Jayden Panesso from Sylar, Landon Tewers from The Plot in You, and Michael Swank from Myka Relocate.
PC: What about the lyrics?
DD: The lyrics are a lot different. We’ve had a switch in clean vocalists. My writing style is different. The album is called Better Days because every song is about an issue people go through every day, whether it be a relationship or a family issue. Every song is a breakdown of these things, but we show how to get through them. A lot of bands write angry songs that people can relate to, but not about how to get through it.
PC: I could see that in the video for “Lanterns.” Can you tell me about the filming of the video?
DD: Josiah Moore filmed and edited the video in Rochester. It was so much fun, but there was a lot of stress. The day we left for filming, we couldn’t get in touch with the actress. At the last minute we were able to find a replacement.
PC: You’ve spent a lot of time touring. Any memorable moments you’d like to share?
DD: We were starting a tour. On the first day we were going to Michigan from New York. We’re in Pennsylvania, and it’s snowing. As we’re going it gets worse and worse to the point where we can’t see. We have another band following us. We pull off and look to the left and there’s a big hill. We turn in the other direction. It turns out there’s a giant hill. Both vans with their trailers get stuck on this hill. The only way out is to go in reverse, two vans with trailers going down. After a couple hours, we’re on flat ground. We find a gas station six miles away, and a drive that should have taken six minutes took thirty. That was a crazy experience. We still got to the show on time.
PC: And that didn’t deter you from continuing to tour?
DD: We do everything we can to make it to the show. That’s the worst thing in the world to us is cancelling a show.
Schenectady native, and upcoming local hip hop artist, 3ality, recently sat down with NYS Music for his first ever interview with any kind of publication.
3ality has been blowing up fast on the local hip hop scene since debuting last summer. During the interview, 3ality was asked about performing live for the first time, when his next album will come out, and his first experience hitting the road.
NYS Music: I was at your very first performance back in June at Our Place in Mechanicville. There was a downpour of rain all day. The promoter shows up late, in a pickup truck with all the sound equipment including speakers in the back getting soaked. Besides the obvious butterflies that had to be in your stomach, what was going on through your mind after witnessing this?
3ality: I didn’t know what to expect, I just know I practiced my ass off and was ready to go do what I had to do…Nine months later, I know that my feelings that day are true. It was so unprofessional, so poorly promoted, and to this day, nothing has changed. I have one more date there that is part of an upcoming tour, unless changes are made, I promise that place will never see me again.
NYS Music: Yeah I would say after nine months, and several shows, its time to move on from that promoter, but how about the venue itself? Was there something about the venue that you didn’t really care for?
3ality: Besides being in the middle of nowhere, it’s kind of small but it does justice for a local show. If shows were actually promoted, it wouldn’t be so bad. The promoter and even the owner make it hard for people to enjoy themselves. 3ality tomatoes gives it a thumbs down, but I’ve enjoyed all my times there. It was the first place I got to perform my own music. The promoter doesn’t make fliers until the week of the show. Like what? The venue has a 21 and over only policy which dampens ticket sales and no real security.
NYS Music: Interesting. You think they would implement a wristband system and place a black X on the back of the hand like other venues to tell difference between customers under 21.
3ality: Yeah it only makes sense. They sell soda and food there. No reason they cant do 18+.
NYS Music: How did you go about practicing for your first show? You obviously never performed on stage or in front of a crowd.
3ality: I knew a month in advance that I was on the show so I filled my allotted time with my tracks and just did them over and over again until I was confident wit the memorization.
NYS Music: How did you go about memorizing them? Did you just read over and over again what you wrote while sitting on your couch? (Laughs)
3ality: I had some studio recorded stuff, so I have been already listening to myself and singing along. What I mainly did practicing was play the beats and sing over it cause that’s what I will be doing live. You check your lyrics until you get them. Just keep practicing like a spelling test. I worked at a community center which is like a YMCA, and after I was done working, I would go into the auditorium and use the mic set up and practice on stage to an empty room or a friend or two. Our Place didn’t have a stage and I felt like I could’ve put on an even more badass show for my family and friends from work who came to see me.
NYS Music: That’s pretty badass. Nice to see that some family friends and co workers came out a supported you.
NYS Music: Since your first performance, you have played several local shows throughout the Capital District in 2017, some shows in Pennsylvania, and capping the year off on New Year’s Eve in New Hampshire. How did you feel performing for the first time in a room where only the performers knew who you were.
3ality: It felt amazing and right at home. That New Hampshire show was a “Juggalo” show which is the crowd I feel I appeal to most. I’m not shy when it comes to seizing the moment. I’m an outgoing guy when comfortable and have had a lot of experience prior to 3ality performing in front of big crowds.
NYS Music: Experience performing in front of crowds before how?
3ality: Singing in shows in school, karaoke in bars, and doing demonstrations in tae kwon do.
NYS Music: What about IYF Wrestling? (Laughs) I’ve seen on your Facebook page that you used to wrestle on the local independent scene.That had to help with performing in front of a crowd.
3ality: I don’t know. That was a whole different world. I feel like if I could’ve done that, I can do anything so your right cause that definitely had me nervous. (Laughs)
NYS Music: (Laughs) I Bet.
3ality: Yeah hopefully one day I’m big enough to set up a match at WrestleMania.
NYS Music: It is coming to NY/NJ in 2019 so a close to home boy on a close to home show would be pretty cool.
NYS Music: You traveled to New Hampshire and performed your first live set for a New Year’s Eve crowd. What expectations did you have going into the show, compared to how you felt after your performance?
3ality: I think my expectations were exceeded from the point my first song ended and the crowd erupted. I felt like I belonged and the rest of my set was a breeze.
NYS Music: In mid April you and some other local hip hop artists are going to hit the road and open shows for Skero. The tour is going to travel to parts of the U.S. including once again NH, West Virginia, Michigan, Indiana and kicking things off in Ohio. What are you looking to gain from this first time extended touring experience.
3ality: This tour is gonna have the same type of crowd as New Hampshire. I met Skero at that show. I hope I get the chance to expand my fan base, and get people to follow me, want new music, and come out a see me perform again.
NYS Music: You’ve released an EP and CD in the past year. Speaking of new music, can fans expect a new EP on this run?
3ality: I’ve been a little busy…there wont be a new solo EP before summer, but there will definitely be new music before the year is out. One EP, two albums, I cant say yet but everyone is gonna get more familiar with the name 3ality, so I hope everyone is ready. You can check out my debut album on Spotify, iTunes, Google play and other like sites.
NYS Music: Since your first live performance, how do you feel you have progressed from that first show, and have you changed anything about the way you approach a live performance?
3ality: Not much. I’ve performed a few different songs, and collaborated with other artists. I’d say I have a lot more energy now.
NYS Music: Thanks for taking the time out and chatting with us here at NYS Music. Last question: What else can we look forward to in the future from 3ality? Any other tours or shows planned?
3ality: Thank You.Not yet. My biggest show to date will be in Stanhope, NJ, on May 13, when I open for Blaze Ya Dead Homie.
New Yorkers can check out 3ality on April 15, at Our Place in Mechanicville, April 17, at Gusa’s in Elmira, and April 25, at The Footlight in Queens.
Continuing to carry the torch of the pre-bluegrass brother duet, Del McCoury and David “Dawg” Grisman are teaming up once again in the city where it all began. On Saturday, March 3, Del and Dawg will take the stage at The Egg in Albany to pay homage to the traditional music that continues to hold such high value within the bluegrass community. It goes without question that the roots of bluegrass go right through Del McCoury’s life story, making a few stops with some very interesting and influential people along the way. Interview
Guitarist and singer Del McCoury is one of the few living legends still around to tell the story. He was first introduced to the music of Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs while he was just a young boy. But by the early 1960s, he was joining Bill Monroe’s band, The Blue Grass Boys, and appearing on the Grand Ole Opry. Del’s musical partnerships are numerous throughout the years, but the one with mandolinist David Grisman is very unique and special to fans near and far.
McCoury took the time to speak with NYS Music about the history of collaborating with David Grisman, learning from “Father of Bluegrass” Bill Monroe and passing on the bluegrass bug to his children.
Jen Foster: Your show at The Egg on March 3 with Grisman marks the 52nd year that you have been collaborating. How does it feel to still be playing after all these years, and how did it all get started?
Del McCoury: We get along pretty good, we do. I guess I met David in 1963 in New York City. We played that show over there in Troy. That was actually the first time I got to associate with David. It wasn’t too long before he moved out to California. I did a tour of Japan and I was on my way back and we did a show in San Francisco, and then I got to talk a lot with him there too. It was a long spell in there where I didn’t get to see David though.
JF: Both you and David have children who play professionally. How important is it to you that they carry the torch for all the legends who have since passed?
DM: Well you know that’s really a great thing. I never really thought that much about it, but it’s true. A lot of my son’s inspiration came from Bill Monroe. I played a show in New York City, can’t really remember the year. I think Ronnie was 13 or 14, and I took him with me because he had a vacation from school. Bill took a liking to Ronnie. It was Bill’s show and my band played too. So in the green room, Bill put his hat on Ronnie, and put his mandolin on Ronnie’s lap and said, “Go ahead and play me one!” He had been playing fiddle in school and he was doing really great. But he was also in Little League baseball. And he was a really good player. There had come this recital and he didn’t go because he had a baseball game. His teacher was really upset because she said he was her star player. He really started playing mandolin then too. He loved baseball though. But this was the next big thing to happen to him, meeting Bill Monroe. He never really put that mandolin down after that. My other son Rob started playing young. He picked up the banjo when he was about 9 years old. He actually played my banjo from when I played with Bill Monroe. Rob just took to that banjo. And he listened to Earl Scruggs. And I told him, “If you’re going to play banjo, you gotta listen to the greatest guy, Earl Scruggs.” Of course, he already knew that. He also looked up to Sonny Osborne. Who of course, also looked up to Earl. So I guess it all really comes down to lookin’ up to Earl.
JF: What are some of your first memories of playing with Grisman?
DM: I started booking dates in California with my own band, and when I was out there, David started calling me up, and he’d say, “Look, I know you’re going to be out here, why don’t you set aside a little time and come by the studio.” By this time he had his own recording company. “Lets record some stuff,” he said. We would record all night long because that was the only time left in the schedule. We did a lot of recording that way. As soon as he got his label, he had a tape of that show in Troy we first did. He said, “I think we can clean that tape up and make a record of it.” He asked my permission and said he would pay me for my part in it. I said go ahead if you want. He called that record Early Dawg. It was me and David and my brother Jerry. Brother Jerry was playing bass with Red Allen & The Kentuckians which was a hardcore Bluegrass band. And David was playing mandolin with them at the time. So Jerry was our go-between. So it was me and brother Jerry, David and Winnie Winston who played banjo. So all the stuff we did was just the four of us on that gig. We did a tour too one time, sometime in the 80s. He wanted to come east and do a bluegrass tour. He had already been playing and recording jazz, but he wanted to come to the East Coast and do a tour. Me and my band went with David and did a whole bunch of dates. My two sons played with us. David and Ronnie both played mandolin so we had twin mandolins playing with us. It was an interesting tour. I’m sure he’s got that on tape somewhere.
JF: How important is it to you that traditional bluegrass and its history continue to be discussed and admired?
DM: I can use myself as an example. That’s the only thing there was when I was little – Bill Monroe and the traditional sound. Of course, I just took to that sound and always had a band that had the same makeup as that first band I heard: banjo, fiddle, mandolin and guitar. It wasn’t easy, but I wasn’t trying to be a star, you know. I just liked it so much. I was probably pretty fortunate that I got to play with Bill Monroe. It was because of him that I got such an early start. He was the father of bluegrass. And by the way, they didn’t start calling him that until I was with him. Bill’s manager said we needed to promote Bill as something, so he came up with the title “Father of Bluegrass.”
JF: What’s something that you learned from Bill Monroe that you still carry with you?
DM: He wasn’t the best emcee, you know. But he would ask for songs from the audience and ask for requests. And you’re supposed to know these things. And, of course, us young guys didn’t know everything like he did. We might have heard ’em, but we’d never played them before. But I’ll do that too today. I don’t ever have a setlist. He didn’t either. I do that same thing though. I get up and ask for requests from the audience. That’s just what we do. I figure people pay to get in the show, and we shouldn’t do what I want to do. We should do what they want to do because, for the most part, they ask to do the songs we’ve recorded. Once in a while, they’ll ask you to do Rocky Top. And I’ll tell them, I’ll say, “Look, Bobby Osmond is a friend of mine. And he was the first guy to sing that song. He’s the only guy that can sing Rocky Top.”
JF: What do you appreciate most about playing with David Grisman?
DM: We have a good time together. We do have a setlist because we don’t play that many times together. We’re kind of limited because we only have a guitar and mandolin, so it works David pretty hard. If we played more, I’m sure we could go on without a setlist. He’s got Del & Dawg, his sextet and a bluegrass band. We have a good time at each of our shows. We don’t play too much where we get tired of each other, or get in a fightin’ mood, which happens to a lot of guys. It’s so funny, but it does. We just get along though, we understand each other. We’re gettin’ a little age on us now, so we forgive each other for our faults.
Tickets for Saturday’s show are available through The Egg.
Vibrant pop punk outfit Young Culture made their way from their hometown of Albany to Rochester on February 17 for the first night of their coast to coast tour. They’re on the road promoting their sophomore EP, Blue, which was released in the fall. NYS Music met up with founding members Alex Magnan and Gabe Pietrafesa just before their show at Vineyard Community Space to talk about the release, tour, the importance of support from friends and family, and the game called Odds.
Photo by Danny DeRusso Photography
Paula Cummings: You’re on tour for your new EP. Tell me about Blue.
Gabe Pietrafesa: We recorded last January, about a year ago. We went out to Always Be Genius Studios in Indiana and recorded it with Seth Henderson and Derek Discanio from State Champs. We were there for eight days, did five songs. We had a blast. Now it’s out and it’s going good. The shows have been really great, and the songs are where we want them to be.
Alex Magnan: It definitely felt like a good follow-up to our first EP You because that one we recorded when we were pretty young. We were 17/18 when we recorded Blue, so it’s just more mature than the last one. It felt like the next step.
PC: You recorded with Derek from State Champs. They’re from your hometown of Albany, right?
GP: We’re homies with the State Champs guys. Derek actually worked with us on our first record, too. He’s a friend now and he’ll come to us with ideas or we’ll come to him with ideas. He just wants to be part of what we’re creating because he’s been with Young Culture from day one. State Champs has been a big thing in the Albany scene.
PC: Also important are supportive parents, and I’ve heard that you guys have an awesome band mom.
AM: Both my parents, Mike and Gina, are the greatest souls ever. They just love everybody and they really are into what we’re doing. So they’re very supportive of it. Every time before we leave for tour they always make us mad food, a big breakfast and food to take.
GP: And any time we have friends’ bands, like if Rarity was in town, they’ll have them over, let them stay and do their laundry, cook them food. They go out of their way. They’re great people.
AM: I feel like they were never doubtful about it. When I was like “Mom, Dad, I want to do music,” they were like, “This is the right move, but if you want to do it, you better haul ass and be 100% about it.” They pushed us to keep doing what we’re doing, which is pretty unorthodox. A lot of parents don’t do that.
Photo by Danny DeRusso Photography
PC: You spend a lot of time on the road. I hear you like to play a game called Odds.
GP: So the rule for Odds is… I’ll use (friend and cameraman) Danny as an example. I’ll think of a crazy task. I’ll be like, Danny, what are the odds that every photo you take tonight you have to close your eyes. Danny will be like one out of ten. And Alex will count us in like 3, 2, 1. And then we both say a number between one and ten, and if we both say the same number, then he has to do it. If I said four and Danny said six and it adds up to ten, then the odds are reversed, and I have to do it, and he won’t have to. We’ve done some pretty stupid odds.
AM: It’s like you’re on the road in a van a long time with a bunch of dudes and you’ve got to keep things interesting sometimes. So we’ve gone to some extremes.
GP: We make an agreement that we don’t do odds for the show. We don’t do anything that’s going to mess with it. That’s a big thing. One time we were doing the drive from here to Texas, and it was insane and we were really bored, and there was a cup of Alex’s pee and someone odds me to drink a sip of it. I didn’t think it would happen.
AM: Needless to say, we’re more than friends now. We’ve done some outlandish stuff.
GP: One time we had our manager Joe go up to someone after their set and say, “Good set. Not great, though.”
Photo by Danny DeRusso Photography
PC: You’re ending this tour with a hometown show. How psyched are you for that?
GP: So stoked.
AM: We’re going to try to sell that one out. It’s going to be at a venue called Lucky Strike Social. All the openers for it are friends of ours. The Maloy Brothers, who have never done a full show are going to be the openers. And then we have Perfect Scores. And a band called Viewpoints – they’ve been doing this as long as we have.
GP: It’s going to be two weeks of us playing shows, and then we get to come home to a big hometown show. We haven’t done a hometown show in like six months.
AM: That’s the best way to do it. You come home and end tour with a bang.
GP: We’re playing so many places we’ve never even been to.
AM: I was excited to come back to Rochester.
GP: It’s cool because not only do we get to play music, we get to travel the world.
AM: What better platform to travel than music.
GP: It’s a lot of fun.
Catch Young Culture on their remaining tour dates:
Feb. 23 – Los Angeles, CA – The Vibe
Feb. 24 – Lake Forrest, CA – Rushbar
Feb. 25 – Santa Anna, CA – 4th Street Market
Feb. 26 – Phoenix, AZ – The Rebel Lounge
Feb. 27 – Albuquerque, NM – The Jam Spot
March 1 – Indianapolis, IN – Hoosier Dome
March 2 – Cleveland, OH – Euclid Tavern
March 3 – Erie, PA – Basement Transmissions March 4 – Albany, NY – Lucky Strike Social
Find Blue, and their 2016 debut EP You on iTunes. Follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date on their adventures on (and off) the road.
I Set My Friends On Fire has come a long way in the past decade. The post-hardcore band that started with two teens and a laptop and has evolved into a full band with members from across the U.S. NYS Music caught up with guitarist Nate Blasdell and bassist Connor Mitchener as they were readying to take off for the tour to celebrate the 10th anniversary of ISMFOF’s debut album You Can’t Spell Slaughter Without Laughter.
photo: Daniel Finkelstein
Paula Cummings: How did you get your start in I Set My Friends On Fire?
Nate Blasdell: I played in a band called The Bunny The Bear. I was pretty young, 18 years old, just out of high school. I learned a lot from that band. It was everything I thought I wanted. We were signed to a label, doing well on tours. We had a booking agent. On the outside, that looks awesome. But there’s a lot of awful stuff that happened. We burned bridges, we made mistakes. We were kids. I was considering what I wanted to do with my life and how I wasn’t a free-spirited 18 year-old looking to run away anymore. I just wanted to play music with people I cared about. Matt Mehana and I started talking and one day I asked if he wanted to get ISMFOF rolling again. We went back and forth for eight months. One day, I was like, “Let’s make a deal, if I can book us a tour in Russia, you’ll start ISMFOF up again and we’ll start touring.” Twelve hours later we had a contract and the plane tickets were fully paid… You have to be crazy to be a musician.
Connor Mitchener: You have to be a masochist.
NB: You have to make a lot of sacrifices. It’s hard to maintain relationships. We sleep in a van, from sleeping in hotels. We went from having plane tickets paid for you to having to front for plane tickets. So we started to lose money and we went through member changes before things fell into place. We had this strand of two months of touring that were horrendous. Not just financially but emotionally. We were in Russia and we all got sick.
CM: I missed a show.
NB: Our drummer got robbed of his camera. My Uber driver ran someone over.
CM: I almost got detained.
NB: He almost got kicked out of the country because his visa expired. We saw money lost from our hotel room.
CM: Literally all the money gone.
NB: All the money we made from tour we lost on our last day in Russia.
CM: That was the kick in the gut.
NB: The biggest thing about that is we flew from Russia to New York and had to play a show in New Jersey that night. We ended that tour with a smile on our faces. Everyone was still laughing, still making the best of it. That’s when we knew we had the right lineup. I think we’ve finally got it right. We’ve all been through the struggle. Instead of being jaded, it makes us that much more hungry and more appreciative of whatever comes our way.
PC: How many countries and continents have you played?
NB: It was thirty last year. Then we did Estonia, Latvia and Sweden. So thirty three. We did Asia, Europe, North America and Australia. Russia was awesome. We didn’t expect to be treated so well there. People were waiting at the train station. We couldn’t walk outside the show. They were really appreciative. We can have that experience, then we can come home and be completely normal people. I think it’s cool because you can experience it, but it’s not your full life.
PC: What was the feedback from your teachers and school counselors when you wanted to pursue a career in music?
NB: I grew up in a suburban area. I came from a good family too. There were expectations. I went through a lot in high school. I used to be all about sports. As I fell out of love with sports, I fell in love with music. Teachers and counselors I had thought I was crazy. Not only teachers and counselors, but some friends of parents and some extended family. I got lucky that I have the most supportive family every. My father has a good job. He saw that money doesn’t buy happiness, and he wanted me to be happy. I went to college when I turned 21. I’m glad I went back. I think that anyone who had a tough time in high school shouldn’t rule out college. It’s crazy. I work as a substitute teacher now alongside of some of the teachers who told me to give up. I had an orchestra teacher tell me I was a failure at music when I was in 6th grade and that I should give up violin. When you tell a kid something like that…
CM: At the most vulnerable age.
NB: It’s funny how that stuff comes around. I had some caring teachers who wanted what was best for me, but I had some who were like, “You have no idea what you’re doing.” We went out and found ourselves.
CM: We learned a lot more than we ever would in school.
NB: It took a couple years to find ourselves. We learned a lot from touring. Every kid has a different plan. I highly advise finishing high school. I know it’s a battle for some people, but once you get that piece of paper, it’s like your life is about to get a thousand times better.
CM: Like Dobby getting a sock.
NB: It will make your life that much better. You can hang it on the wall and no one can take that away. I went on tour thinking I was going to tour for the rest of my life, and I came back as a teacher. That’s one of the reasons I became a teacher is to push kids in the direction of their own greatness instead of society’s standards of greatness, and find themselves. College is always there. It isn’t for everyone, but I encourage people to try it. But there’s no time frame on it.
PC: Connor, did you have similar experiences with teachers and counselors in high school?
CM: Oh, yeah. I come from a way smaller place than Nate did. It’s pretty country. I remember getting called to the counselor’s office to do financial aid. I’m like, “I’m not going to school right away, so I don’t need to do this.” They were like, “Yes you do, because you’re dumb not to.” It sucked. High school sucked. That place just didn’t get it. People in my town never leave. There were teachers who were like “I had your parents when they were in school.”
PC: How supportive was your family?
CM: So my mom was stoked. When Nate called me, he was like, “Buy a bass, learn to play bass and come join me.” We were homies. I was like, “cool.” I go home and tell my mom and she was ok. I was a cross country and track runner. I had scholarships. I go to my dad and say, “I’m going to play music,” and he told me I was pissing away my future. They saw where this led and my dad comes to out of state shows now. They were concerned. It was random. It wasn’t a plan I ever had because I never thought I could do it. Honestly, at face value, our story is kind-of ridiculous.
NB: We both grew up in good families where there was a lot of trust. It’s cool because they’ve been supportive. There was a point where they were worried, but now there are instances like my dad will be at work and say, “My son is in a band.” They’ll ask what band, and he’ll say I Set My Friends On Fire, and they’ll be like, “No way!” Our dads brag about us.
CM: It started like, “My kid plays in a band. He doesn’t really do anything,” and now it’s prideful to say.
PC: What advice would you give to 18 year-old you?
NB: Look at the bigger picture. Don’t be blindsided by the initial look of something. And don’t let hate affect you so much. People are going to hate. I don’t let it affect me at a personal level. Don’t get caught up in what everyone else is doing. Everyone has a different plan. You can’t compare your success to others. Try not to get attached to your idols on an emotional level.
CM: Heroes become human.
NB: Who they portray themselves as and who they are is way different.
Photo: Andrew Parker-West
PC: What is your favorite lyric on You Can’t Spell Slaughter Without Laughter?
NB: Matt’s lyrics are insane. “Don’t drink and park, accidents in cars cause population” from Beauty Is In The Eyes Of The Beerholder.
CB: The end of WTFWJD, “Let me get a sip of what you want me to say, I am so thirsty.” I love the end of that.
NB: IMFOF lyrics are more meaningful than they appear. You can’t deny that we’re a sexual and violent band with content.
CB: It’s more wacky than violent.
NB: The thing that Matt does that’s really cool is that he has lyrics that appear sexual or violent but they are part of a way bigger meaning. It’s not like he’s writing it to be edgy.
As I was thanking them for the interview, they mentioned that they will be doing an interview called ‘How Well Do You Know Your Bandmate?’ while on tour. I threw a few practice questions at them. Having known each other for seven years and spent so much time together, they nailed the answers. In case you were wondering… their favorite restaurants on tour are In-N-Out Burger, Chipotle, Cook Out and Chic-Fil-A. Connor’s favorite beverages are Code Red Mountain Dew and Dr. Pepper. And Nate doesn’t eat candy often, but when he does, his favorite is Lemonheads.
Tickets are on sale now for the I Set My Friends On Fire on their 10 Years of Slaughter Tour. They still maintain their MySpace page, as well as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Find music by I Set My Friends on Fire, from their debut You Can’t Spell Slaughter Without Laughter to their latest single “My Uzi Holds A Hundred Round Conscience” on iTunes and Spotify.
Music fans are in for a treat this weekend if they are heading out to see the Kyle Hollingsworth Band.
“As of right now, I’m excited about this little run in the Northeast,” said Kyle Hollingsworth. “I’m excited about hitting the road a little bit and playing some of these tunes I’ve been working on the last year or so — testing out live performance of the songs. And raging the best we can.”
“We have a new lineup of musicians and it’s more jam-oriented than I’ve ever made it,” he said.
Hollingsworth’s tour coincides with the release of his new solo album 50 — coming out March 2.
NEW SONGS
Fans attending the shows on this tour will be the first ones to hear the new songs played live from the album.
“There will be some debuts,” he said.
While he has played about half of the album live already, he said it’s fun playing songs for the first time because people don’t know them and he does more experimentation and jamming.
“If we screw up the song, people won’t know because they haven’t heard it before,” he said.
NEW ALBUM, BIRTHDAY
The album 50 comes out a day before Hollingsworth’s birthday, when he turns 50. Reflecting on that milestone, Hollingsworth is not slowing down at all.
“I still feel super creative and very active,” he said. “I feel very young still.”
Regarding the title he laughed and said: “What the hell was I thinking? Why’d I call it 50. I’m gonna call it 25 Again.”
Hollingsworth describes the album as exploratory and epic. “The album starts out as if you walked into the club and the band is already raging,” he said.
He said it starts that way in the beginning with the song “Onset” and keeps the theme throughout while the last song is titled “Offset.”
BREWING BEER
If it doesn’t seem like Hollingsworth has enough on his plate, he also has a new brew to wash things down. Ground Score IPA came from a collaboration between Hollingsworth, Relix magazine and Sweetwater Brewing Company. The launch party for the 7.1 percent ABV brew coincides with the first date of the tour on and will be served at the first venue they play at, Brooklyn Bowl in New York City.
“I’ve made about 30 beers with people all around the country,” he said. “And this is one of my more favorite ones,” he said. “It is more unique in their (Sweetwater) style of beer.”
Hollingsworth picked up homebrewing as a hobby from his brother.
“I always did anything my brother did,” he said. “He started watching the Grateful Dead, so I started. He started smoking pot, I started smoking pot, and he started brewing beer, so I started.”
Hollingsworth compares brewing to making music because it gives him the same creative outlet.
“Once you get it on your fingers, whether it is playing piano or brewing beer, it is fun to improvise and drift from the process, and some of that is where the magic happens,” he said.
He appreciates the experimentation aspect of both hobbies.
“It could be a great beer, or it could be a terrible solo,” he said. “Sometimes you win sometimes you lose. Sometimes you have a great beer; sometimes you have a terrible solo.”
VISIT TO NEW YORK
Hollingsworth said the beer he made with Relix and Sweetwater was inspired by some of the great Northeastern breweries. He can’t wait to try more local New York brews.
“I’m excited. I don’t know much about the area,” he said.
He also invites people to share their creations or favorite local beers with him.
“People are always welcome to bring me tasty beers,” he said. “Either their home brews or local microbrews — I’ll try them.”
He also plans to ski in some of his free time on tour. He said he has never heard of a garbage plate, but he would definitely try one.
“When I’m not running around making beer or touring, I’m in the studio full time with String Cheese,” he said.
He cannot wait to let loose and get creative in their studio known as SCI Lab.
Since he keeps himself busy with many projects, he doesn’t get much time to see many shows, but he said at festivals he enjoys drifting to the smaller stages and finding inspiration in what he hears. He mentioned he enjoyed seeing a DJ by the name of Elohim and My Morning Jacket, and he is always finding something new.
“When I see music, for me, it is just wandering Electric Forest or Hulaween to smaller stages,” he said. “I try to find what inspires me. When I hear something magical, it draws me to the stage.”
Rhiannon Payne knew she wanted to be a music superstar since the very beginning of her life.
“I was 3 years old when someone told me ‘Hey kid you can sing,’” said the Syracuse native. “So that was kind of it for me.”
She’s ready to take her career to the next level with a new album and tour planned this summer. The album, which she hasn’t titled yet, will include 10 tracks, and she hopes to have it released by early June with a two-month tour to coincide.
Payne will share her talents at Funk ‘N Waffles on Clinton Street in Syracuse at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9.
EARLY EXPERIENCE
Payne explored her musical talent often growing up and she worked hard pursuing her career. She took music classes and participated in chorus, but it was a band that guided her.
“I was in a band for three years, and that really helped me realize what I wanted to do,” she said.
From age 13-16 Payne sang for the pop-punk/alternative band Nextake. She familiarized herself with the stage through singing and playing local venues.
“I love performing in front of people,” she said.
Nextake performed at local venues around Syracuse, and one big feat Payne was proud of was opening for The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus at the Westcott Theater in April 2012.
“That was an amazing experience,” she said.
In high school she started buckling down to prepare for the journey ahead.
“I took every opportunity I could to put myself here,” she said. “It was kind of like my accumulation of taking all of the tools and people I had to help me out — I took advantage of everything I had.”
“I met wonderful people there who really knew how to tie and relate what I learned in school to my actual career.”
Payne didn’t want to go to college because she thought it wouldn’t help her career. But she found classes she could apply to singing and help her voice for the long-term. So she pursued a degree from Onondaga Community College and graduated with an associate’s degree in applied science.
NEXT STEPS
Now that Payne honed in on her talents, she is focused on her album and the next steps for her path of success. She hired a manager at the end of last year, she has a producer working on her album, and she also hired a promoter as well.
“My music was beginning to falter because I couldn’t spend time to practice or write,” she said. “It got super overwhelming. I understand why musicians need large teams of people to do what they do.”
She said she wrapped up recording for mostly everything on the album and is going back and forth with the editing process. Shane Patterson is working as the producer out of Hobin Studios in Phoenix, NY.
The album includes eight new songs and two she has already released. “Bedtime Stories” was published in October with a music video. “Through Me” was a song she had produced and released in May 2015.
Payne is shooting for early June to release her album. She is planning to have a huge party and then have a two-month tour lined up around New York and New York City.
She said her ultimate goal is to move to Nashville, to continue developing as an artist.
“I want to get experience writing and collaborating with more musicians,” she said. “I want to learn as much as I can from a large music capital.”
PLAYING STYLE
When it comes to her music, Payne said she likes to play all types of genres.
“No one can really ‘genre-tize’ my music,” she said. “One song will sound jazzy, one will sound like Irish folk.”
While she can play many different instruments, she is often seen with a guitar. At her shows, fans can expect to hear her original songs with some covers added to the setlist.
Since she likes to play all genres, she said she covers anything — giving classic rock, Ariana Grande and Paramore as examples of the variety she includes.
The show at Funk ‘N Waffles will include a set by former Nextake bandmember Dylan Aird. Payne said she is excited for the show and they will perform together for a song during each other’s set.
One last thing about Payne’s name in case it sounded familiar: She was named after the Fleetwood Mac song. And Stevie Nicks did inspire Payne at a young age.
“I saw her rocking on stage and I would say ‘Yup, that’s gonna be me.’”
SEE RHIANNON PAYNE LIVE
WHAT: Rhiannon Payne with Dylan Aird
WHERE: Funk ‘N Waffles 307 Clinton St., Syracuse, NY 13202
JF: Both you and David have children who play professionally. How important is it to you that they carry the torch for all the legends who have since passed?
JF: What are some of your first memories of playing with Grisman?
