Longtime Central New York festival, K-Rockathon is back to a one-day affair after Avenged Sevenfold decided to cancel their upcoming Saturday date due to an ongoing illness within the band.
Back in March, Central New York radio station K-Rock announced that the 22nd edition of the annual festival would expand to two days at the St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview (formerly Lakeview Amphitheater) in Syracuse. The July 22 date of the festival was to feature Avenged Sevenfold as the headliner with support from Rise Against, Three Days Grace and Ho99o9. The Sunday, July 23 show is still happening and features Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie.
A statement issued by Avenged Sevenfold said:
Due to a continued illness, we unfortunately have to cancel our performances this week in Rimouski at Les Grandes Fetes TELUS and at Syracuse’s KROCKATHON. To our fans, we’re just as let down about this as you are and we look forward to seeing you next time.
The band did not provide any information on the illness. In addition to the Syracuse show, shows in Quebec City, Saint John, New Brunswick and Rimouski, Quebec were also scrapped.
Tickets for the festival were available as single-day or two-day passes. Those who purchased two-day passes will be receive a 50% refund while those who purchased Saturday only will receive a full refund. Live Nation stated that online purchases will be automatically refunded. Physical tickets will be refunded at the point of purchase.
K-Rock issued the following via Facebook, “Listen, it SUPER bums us out & we completely understand that everyone will be upset (and have their own opinion to voice), but we can’t control sickness so, we’re here for questions & hope you still come party with us on Sunday for Rob Zombie & Marilyn Manson”
Brooklyn’s Sister Sparrow has announced the release of the new album GOLD. The album arrives at all music retailers and streaming services via Thirty Tigers on Friday, Oct. 12th.
Photo courtesy of Sister Sparrow’s website.
The album’s first single, “Ghost,” is set to release Friday, Aug. 3. In addition to this, Sister Sparrow will also be celebrating the new LP with a major U.S. tour, joined as always by her extraordinary brass-fueled combo, the Dirty Birds.
GOLD is produced and co-written in collaboration with Carter Matschullat (Chef’Special, Secret Weapons) at Brooklyn’s DØØM Studio. The LP takes the classic Dirty Birds sound and turns it into something altogether new, a soul-blasted contemporary pop approach supremely suited for Kincheloe’s immense voice.
“The GOLD Tour” begins August 30 in Athens, then travels the country through early December. The tour will include a performance with Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats on Sept. 15 at Thompson’s Point in Portland, Maine. Additional dates will be unveiled soon.
For more information please visit Sister Sparrow’s website.
The GOLD Tour:
Aug. 30 – Athens Summer Concert Series – Athens, NY
Aug. 31 – Levitt Pavilion Steelstacks – Bethlehem, PA
Sept. 1 – Blues, Views And BBQ – Westport, CT
Sept. 14 – Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival – Fredericton, NB
Sept. 15 – Thompson’s Point (w/ Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats) – Portland, ME
Sept. 16 – Grand Point North Festival – Burlington, VT Sept. 21 – Westcott Theater – Syracuse, NY Sept. 22 – Borderland Music and Arts Festival – East Aurora, NY
Oct. 31 – Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL
Nov. 1 – Founders Brewing Co.Grand – Rapids, MI
Nov. 2 – Otus Supply – Parliament Room- Ferndale, MI
Nov. 3 – Mr. Small’s Theatre – Millvale, PA
Nov. 8 – Infinity Music Hall Hartford – Hartford, CT
Nov. 9 – Theatre Of Living Arts – Philadelphia, PA Nov. 10 – Swyer Theatre, Empire Center At The Egg – Albany, NY
Nov. 15 – Brighton Music Hall – Allston, MA
Nov. 29 – 9:30 Club – Washington DC
Dec. 1 – Irving Plaza – New York, NY
Dec. 5 – Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA
Dec. 6 – The Independent – San Francisco, CA
Thousands of fans “went down the rabbit hole” to Zac Brown Band’s sold out show in Syracuse, NY at the Lakeview Amphitheater Saturday, June 23. Zac Brown Band is one of those bands that have been around for a while because they have so much stamina live. As the show progressed, the realization of how many popular songs they have hits you like the radio waves they have been surfing on.
It was amazing seeing fans of all ages in the audience, proving that the Zac Brown Band appeals to music lovers of all ages. One of the highlights of the evening was when Zac brought out the opening act Mark O’Connor Band to perform “In My Blood” that Zac produced. It was truly an amazing sight and sound with the stage full of such talented musicians surrounding Zac. It was absolutely perfect when they all covered “With a Little Help From My Friends” by The Beatles.
Zac also took the time to speak about a cause that is dear to the band’s heart, Camp Southern Ground, which is a music camp for children. Zac told the audience that $2 from every ticket was donated to Camp Southern Ground that night. As the band began to play the riff’s to their smash hit “Chicken Fried,” Zac also thanked all of the service men and women.
All in all after seeing the Zac Brown perform live, they made loving them so easy. They are one of the best live bands out there, sounding even better than on their albums. If you missed out on seeing their amazing performance, you still have a chance to catch them live July 28 and 29 in NYC at Citi Field, and on September 29 at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, NY.
Set 1: Knee Deep, As She’s Walking Away, Sweet Annie, Day That I Die, It’s Not OK, Uncaged, Take Me to Church (Hozier cover), Tomorrow Never Comes, 2 Places at 1 Time, Keep Me in Mind, Highway 20 Ride, Whipping Post (The Allman Brothers Band cover)
Set 2:Toes, Next to Me (Imagine Dragons cover), Family Table, Free / Into the Mystic, In My Blood
(Mark O’Connor cover), Eleanor Rigby (The Beatles cover), With a Little Help From My Friends
(The Beatles cover), Beautiful Drug, Colder Weather / Take It to the Limit, Chicken Fried, Homegrown
Encore: Cult of Personality (Living Colour cover), Bennie and the Jets (Elton John cover), Long Train Runnin’ (The Doobie Brothers cover), Tush (ZZ Top cover), Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (Sly & The Family Stone cover), Despacito (Luis Fonsi cover), Baby Got Back (Sir Mix‐A‐Lot cover), Thunderstruck (AC/DC cover), Sabotage (Beastie Boys cover)
Shooter Jennings started his “Bound Ta Git Down Tour.” on July 4 but recently has added new dates which go all the way into November. The tour is partially in anticipation of his new album, SHOOTER, which arrives at all music retailers and streaming services via Low Country Sound and Elektra Records on Friday, August 10.
Shooter Jennings courtesy of Shooter Jennings’ social media.
“The Bound Ta Git Down Tour” includes not only headlining shows but also dates supporting Turnpike Troubadours. He’s also scheduled to do multiple festival performances, including Black Mountain, North Carolina’s Jam In The Trees, Tahlequah, Oklahoma’s Medicine Stone Festival, and Fort Worth, Texas’ KFWR Annual Ranch Bash.
There is also a very special SHOOTER release day celebration at the world famous Pappy & Harriet’s in Pioneertown, CA, set for Friday, August 10. For updates and ticket information, please visit Shooter Jennings’ official tour page.
For more information on Shooter Jennings visit his website.
New tour dates listed below:
July 4 – The Beaumont – Wayne, NE
July 5 – The Royal Grove – Lincoln, NE
July 6 – The Shrine – Tulsa, OK
July 7 – Will Rogers Riders Rodeo – Amarillo, TX
July 12 – Shank Hall – Milwaukee, WI
July 13 – Cavalier Theater – La Crosse, WI
July 14 – Vetter Stone Amphitheater – Mankato, MN*
July 27 – Lawn at White Oak Music Hall – Houston, TX*
July 28 – Whitewater Amphitheater – New Braunfels, TX*
Aug. 2 – Sofia Tsakopoulos Center – Sacramento, CA
Aug. 3 – Slim’s – San Francisco, CA
Aug. 4 – Moe’s Alley -Santa Cruz, CA
Aug. 5 – Rebel Lounge – Phoenix, AZ
Aug. 8 – Belly Up Tavern – Solana Beach, CA
Aug. 10 – Pappy & Harriet’s – Pioneertown, CA
Aug. 11 -Troubadour – Hollywood, CA
Aug. 22 – City Winery – Washington, DC
Aug. 23 – Milton Performing Arts Center – Milton, WV
Aug. 24 – The Ramkat – Winston-Salem, NC
Aug. 25 – Jam In The Trees – Black Mountain, NC
Aug. 31 – 9th Street Summerfest – Columbia, MO*
Sept. 2 – Beaver Dam Amphitheater – Beaver Dam, KY*
Sept. 6 – The Burl – Lexington, KY
Sept. 7 – Maddie’s Hall – Bristol, TN
Sept. 8 – Harley Davidson of ATL – Atlanta, GA
Sept. 9 – The Senate – Columbia, SC
Sept. 12 – George’s Majestic Lounge – Fayetteville, AL
Sept. 13 – The HiFi – Indianapolis, IN
Sept. 14 – The Riff – Springfield, MO
Sept. 15 – Legacy Park Amphitheater – Lee’s Summit, MO
Sept. 22 – Medicine Stone Festival – Tahlequah, OK*
Sept. 27 – Turf Club – St Paul, MN
Sept. 28 – Kilbourn City Live – Wisconsin Dells, WI
Sept. 29 – Magic Bag – Ferndale, MI
Sept. 30 – Pyramid Scheme – Grand Rapids, MI
Oct. 2 – The Aquarium – Fargo, ND
Oct. 4 – Broadway Theatre – Saskatoon, SK
Oct. 5 – Cadillac Hall – Cadillac, SK
Oct. 6 – River Cree Casino – Edmonton, AB**
Oct. 13 – Ashland River Front – Ashland, KY
Oct. 18 – Heights Theater – Houston, TX
Oct. 20 – KFWR Annual Ranch Bash – Fort Worth, TX
Nov. 6 – Shakas Live – Virginia Beach, VA Nov. 8 – Brooklyn, NY – Knitting Factory Brooklyn Nov. 9 – Rec Room – Buffalo, NY Nov. 10 – Lost Horizon – Syracuse, NY
Nov. 11 – Port City Music Hall – Portland, ME
Calliope Musicals are hitting the road for their Stray Cats Tour and their first two stops are in Rochester on July 25 and Syracuse on July 26 at Funk ‘n Waffles locations.
Photo courtesy of Calliope Musicals website.
Calliope Musicals has a pop-rockesque vibe and can captivate an audience. The band is from Austin, TX and is made up of six members. Carrie Fussell on lead vocals and guitar, Craig Finkelstein on vibraphone and vocals, Josh Bickley on drums and vocals, Andrew Vizzone on bass and vocals, Jerry Sparkman on confetti cat, and Joe Cannariato on lead guitar and vocals.
For their Rochester show, they are joined by special guest Stationary Escape Pod and the show starts at 8:00 p.m. and is an 18 and up show with a $7 cover.
For their Syracuse show, they are joined by special guest Pet Cheetah. The show starts at 9:00 p.m. and is also an 18 and up show with a cover of $5 in advance or $7 at the door. Tickets for both shows can be purchased in advance through TicketWeb.
The collective will also perform in New York City at Bowery Electric on July 27.
For more information on Calliope Musicals be sure to check out their website.
There’s nothing like a great concert to brighten summer days even more. Here to make it all the more easy for you, NYS Music is bringing you our run down of all the can’t-miss action throughout New York State’s music scene throughout July.
Rochester – Funk ‘N Waffles
July 6th – You will not want to miss Andy Frasco’s “party blues with a touch of barefoot boogie,” style as him and his band bring feel good music to Funk ‘N Waffles with The UN. Click the link for more event and ticket details. Event link.
July 7th – The night following their Syracuse show, Victor Wainwright and The Train will be bringing another show sure to make you smile to Rochester. Event link.
July 10th – Syracuse native, Funk ‘N Waffles house band, Pearly Baker’s Best, will be moving over to Rochester for the night to perform their tribute to the Grateful Dead with David Gans. Event link.
July 12 – Adam Ezra Group, a personal favorite of mine, will be bringing their roots rock to Rochester and it is sure to be a show you do not want to miss! Event link.
July 13th – The Gerry Jarcia String Band will be making a stop on their summer Powerwagon Tour and is bringing along some “post nuclear music” courtesy of the dynamic group, Electric Kif. Event link.
July 18th – Reggae artist Alika will be playing at the Music Hall with M.A.K.U Soundsystem to celebrate of self discovery through music and, as always, bring the party with their punk, funk and rock sound. Event link.
July 19th – Indie rock and R&B infused band, Little Bird, will be stopping by on their summer tour with the funk fusion quartet, The Phryg. Event link.
July 21st – It’s Cosmic Brownie’s 1 year anniversary and they want Rochester to join in on the celebration! To commemorate the occasion, the alternative hip-hop duo will be playing with electronic drummer and producer, Hybrid Beats, as well as Level 7. Event link.
July 25th – Calliope Musicals will be making the long and treacherous trek from space (or Austin, Texas) with special guests Stationary Escape Pod for an energetic and alluring night of music. Event link.
July 31st – Amoramora guarantees that every show is sure to, “blast you off into a cosmic dance party,” so don’t miss this golden opportunity to witness their rock ‘n’ roll with special guest Walrus Junction. Event link.
Syracuse – Funk ‘N Waffles
July 6th – The award-winning blues, soul and rock songwriter, Victor Wainwright, will be stopping in Syracuse on the album release tour of his band Victor Wainwright and The Train accompanied by Doug Woolverton on Trumpet. Event link.
July 9th – Dead Nights are the best nights, especially when they are brought to you by Pearly Baker’s Best. Event link.
July 11th – Before the always-traveling group hits Rochester, Adam Ezra Group will be performing with New York native group, The Sea the Sea. This powerhouse pairing is sure to make for an incredible night of music you can’t miss. Event link.
July 14th – Upstate New York has the privilege of being graced with another stop on Gerry Jarcia’s Powerwagon Tour. Once again, the string band will be joined by Electric Kif. Event link.
July 18th – The night before their Rochester show, Little Bird will be playing Funk ‘N Waffles with lively afro-beat and reggae group Akuma Roots. Event link.
July 19th – Chris Eves and the New Normal, rock, funk, blues and jam band, will be performing with special guest, The Melting Nomads, who will be supplying dirty funky fusion. Event link.
July 21st – It’s sure to be a jam-packed night full of electrifying performances as the Barroom Philosophers, Ponder, General B and The Wiz take on Funk ‘N Waffles for the night. Event link.
July 26th – For all alternative music fans, Calliope Musicals with Philadelphia-native band, Pet Cheetah, is sure to be a show to remember. Event link.
July 27th – Andy Frasco & The UN will be kicking off a vibrant month of music at Funk ‘N Waffles in Rochester and will be closing it out at Syracuse. Make sure to come out for the good vibes and great music. Event link.
Lake George
July 13th – A lot of exciting things are happening with one of our favorite Upstate New York-local bands, Formula 5, and included on this list is the fact that they will be hosting the second annual Rock the Dock Festival in Lake George. The festival will be held on the dock of the Lake George Steamboat Company and will host a multitude of other great acts including Soule Monde, Strange Machines and Let’s Be Leonard. On your way to the event, make sure you grab a Formula 5 flavored shake at Ben & Jerry’s! Event link.
Saranac Lake – The Waterhole
The historic Waterhole in Saranac Lake welcomes West End Blend for ‘The Blender’ – a two night affair with Bella’s Bartok as special guest on Friday, July 13, and a tribute to Prince with WEB on Saturday, July 14. Two day passes cost $24, or $15 each day at the door. On Saturday afternoon enjoy a FREE show with “Blender on the Patio” will go from 5pm to 10pm featuring Jiggawaltz, Adrian Aardvark and Arthur Buezo.
Buffalo – Nietzsche’s
The Jazz Happy Hour that got you through every Monday in June is continuing on through July at Nietzche’s in Buffalo with another incredible lineup of artists.
July 2nd – Frontstreet Men will be bringing a high energy set full of covers of some classics as well as their own bluesy, funky originals. Event link.
July 9th – No strangers to jazz at Nietzche’s, Jared Tinkham Trio will be taking over happy hour on the 9th. Event link.
July 16th – Buffalo-based and renowned jazz improvisation artist, Donny Frauenhofer, will be performing on the 16th. Event link.
July 23rd – Head out on the 23rd to enjoy some smooth sounds from the Brendan Lonighan Octet. Event link.
July 30th – To close out yet another month of the happiest hours in Upstate New York, Buffalo Infringement Festival Presents Curtis Lovell. Event link.
JAZZ IS PHSH is in the middle of their Northeast tour across New York, with stops in New Hampshire and Boston, bringing with them an incredible lineup of musicians who explore the music of Phish with a focus on improvisation of the group’s many compositions. Adam Chase, co-founder of the JAZZ IS PHSH ensemble, is introducing broader audiences to not only the music of Phish from musicians who did not come up in the jam world, but to also introduce Phish fans to musicians that may or may not have been on their radar.
The current tour includes familiar faces in the jam scene such as Rob Compa of Dopapod, a Berklee School of Music graduate who has been performing recently with Mike Gantzer of Aqueous, where you can hear Compa’s jazz influences come out from a smooth sounding acoustic duo. A trio of horns features trombonist Alicia Aubin of Big Mean Sound Machine and Ithaca College alumni who has performed across the country with the high-energy funk band, and as far away as China and Russia. Rounding out the horns section are Carl “Geerz” Gerhard and Dave “The Truth” Grippo of Phish’s Giant Country horns, the latter two of which performed with Phish numerous times in the early 90’s. Grippo continues to perform with Grippo Funk Band in the Burlington area and has toured with Trey Anastasio Band on numerous occasions.
Familiarity with these players will make jam fans feel at home, while Felix Pastorius and Domi Degalle will add in fresh jazz takes on the music of Phish. Son of Jaco, Felix Pastorius walks in his father’s footsteps as a bass guitarist, who at the age of 19 was recommended by Victor Wooten to fill the bass chair in Jeff Coffin’s Mu’tet. He won a Grammy with jazz mainstay The Yellowjackets, and now based in New York City, has started his own projects, including an incredible jazz fusion group The Hipster Assassins. Domi is a teenage musical prodigy and was brought up in a musical family in France and began playing music at age 2, entered Conservatory at age 5 to study classical and jazz. She is now studying on a full scholarship at Berklee College of Music and has performed with the likes of Thundercat, David Gilmour, Ghost-Note, MonoNeon,Louis Cole & More. Both musicians are well known in jazz circles and join the band for a different angle on the music of Phish, a twist on your everyday troupe.
The group will perform this month in Albany at The Egg on June 27, at Buffalo Iron Works on June 28, and ANTHOLOGY in Rochester on June 29. They recently stopped at Brooklyn Bowl to perform with Strange Machines on June 16. Check out a photo gallery over at Relix. Adam Chase, who also plays drums in JAZZ IS PHSH spoke to NYS Music about the upcoming shows and how their interpretations of Phish’s music stands apart from others.
Pete Mason: How did you assemble this tour’s lineup for Jazz is Phish?
Adam Chase: I really like combining musicians from a variety of backgrounds on each show, whether it’s older and younger musicians, male and female, black and white, etc. And for this project the musical backgrounds being diverse is very important, regardless of gender or ethnicity.
Having a combination of musicians that are familiar with the music and musicians that never listened to Phish before I introduced them to it is the best recipe for really doing justice to the compositions while pushing the boundaries of what the tunes can sound like.
For this run I am particularly excited about having the teenage piano prodigy, DOMi, on the road with us. Having grown up in France and having her exposure to music in America be through jazz and classical professors at Berklee School of Music and through her collaborations with Thunder Cat, Knower, and Ghost Note, her lack of knowledge of Phish has been really fun for me. She is so talented that she can take the sheet music I give her and not only play the complex compositions with ease, but is also able to expand the ideas and improvise in a way that I’ve never heard within the framework of a Phish song.
Being able to pair her talents with Felix Pastorius is very exciting for me as well. As many people know, Felix is the son of Jaco Pastorius, which carries a fair amount of weight for the level of talent one would expect, but what a lot of people don’t know is that Felix himself is one of the best bassists around and he has his own voice on his instrument. His knowledge of music and his approach to playing bass is mind bending and he is one of my favorite musicians to play with.
In addition we have Rob Compa of Dopapod who is great guitarist and amazing human being, Alicia Aubin from Big Mean Sound Machine who will be making her debut with us and Dave Grippo of The Giant Country Horns. It’s always fun for me to play music with guys like Carl Gerhard and Dave Grippo, because growing up in the 90s as a Phish head, I had a ton of cassette tapes of those guys playing with Phish. They are quintessential figures in the Phish experience.
PM: What makes the interpretations of Phish’s music done by JAZZ IS PHSH different from those of other Phish tributes?
AC: There are lots of Phish cover bands. I don’t consider this to be a Phish cover band, though it is absolutely a Phish tribute. I may be splitting hair with terminology, but when I think of a Phish cover band, I think of a band trying to play Phish songs like Phish did in attempt to recreate the experience of seeing Phish (or as close to that as they can get). With Jazz Is Phsh our goal is to create a unique experience, where the music is a vehicle for incredible musicians to put their own identity into the music. Not just from an improvisational perspective but also from a compositional perspective.
Every song that we have done arrangements for have happened in a group setting with musicians that range from Chris Bullock of Snarky Puppy and Kofi Burbridge of Tedeschi Trucks Band, but also Michael Ray of Sun Ra Arkestra and Anthony Wellington of Victor Wooten Band. With each arrangement, we have not only reharmonizes the vocal melodies to fit into a horn section but for many songs we have composed original parts, reworked existing parts and even mashed up Phish songs with jazz songs and in some cases even jazz influenced hip hop.
A recent mashup we did took the popular Phish cover “Yamar” (which is actually an old calypso song) and mashed it up with the Q Tip song “ManWomanBoogie”. What makes this mashup so cool is that the Q Tip song was a variation of a sample of a Wayne Shorter jazz piece. What makes this so relevant to me is that jazz is often trapped in a box and held to just being swing music or a sound associated with the legends of the origins of jazz. But jazz is much more than that. Just follow the career of Herbie Hancock and you will see how jazz has evolved into funk, hip hop and so much more. The idea of jam music to me is the intersection of jazz and rock and roll. So to be able to explore the brilliant music of Phish in this way is what jazz is all about.
PM: Is there an era of Phish that lines up with the sound of Jazz is Phish more than any other?
AC: I think what we are doing is very unique and different so it would be hard to say if it lines up with any particular era of Phish. I do however enjoy turning on musicians to some of the early compositions of Phish as the complexity of the arrangements are very “Zappa-esque” and provide a challenge and in some cases an explanation of what a musician would find so charming about Phish’s music. But really there are Phish songs throughout their career that lend themselves so well to a horn driven, instrumental, funky jazzy setting.
PM: This is your first time in Albany, and you’re playing in The Swyer Theater at The Egg – what can fans expect from a show in this intimate venue?
AC: We are particularly excited to play this beautiful room. It’s always special when playing this type of music, to be in a room with great sound and a great feel. It really opens up the dynamics of the music and the creativity the musicians feel. I find that shows in rooms like this, feel like they have room to breathe, which is very exciting. I am looking forward to really giving each musician an opportunity to showcase their talents while also exploring the music collectively in a way that will really connect everyone in the audience with everyone on stage. When everyone on stage and the audience are all listening wholeheartedly and in the moment, magic can be made.
It is nothing but awe inspiring seeing Paramore go from performing on a tiny pink bus on the Shiragirl side stage on Warped Tour in 2005, to seeing lead vocalist Hayley Williams having pink hair and wearing a pink jacket, performing in front of thousands of fans at the Lakeview Amphitheater on June 17 who were still into you.
Kicking off the show with “Grudges,” Williams couldn’t help but have a huge smile on her face as she sang. Williams kept her performance fun, kicking her stylish yellow boots in the air, yet still letting her raw emotions shine through as she knelt to get closer to their fans.
Williams dedicated their hit “Still Into You” to Paramore, which was a cheeky nod to all the trials and tribulations that the band has dealt with throughout its career.
Halfway through Paramore’s set, the band took a quick break to allow their crew to set up the stage for an acoustic mini set. They came back out to perform a cover of “Passionfruit,” “Misguided Ghosts” and “26.” This was a very intimate and personal portion of the set with Williams sharing some insight on how she felt now as opposed to when she initially wrote “Misguided Ghosts” and even teased about the audience giving her a therapy session.
Dialing the energy back up with “Caught In The Middle,” the band continued to give their all for their fans. Another highlight was when Williams picked three fans named Jessy, Cameron and Danielle to come onto the stage and help the band finish “Misery Business.”
After seeing Paramore’s performance, it is safe to say that their fans will forever “still be into you.”
Setlist: Grudges, Still Into You, Rose-Colored Boy, That’s What You Get, Crushcrushcrush, Fake Happy, Playing God, Forgiveness, Ignorance, Pool, Passionfruit (Drake cover), Misguided Ghosts, 26, Caught in the Middle, Idle Worship, No Friend, Misery Business, Ain’t It Fun, Told You So, All That Love Is, Hard Times
Imagine being in a band and living the rockstar life in your 20s—touring, recording, the whole bit. Life happens and you part ways for a mere 44 (Go Orange!) years. Then imagine getting a second chance to write a fresh record and perform live with the group of your youth. That’s the story of Syracuse Area Music Awards (The SAMMYs) Hall of Fame inductee Jukin’ Bone. For years, the band never quite received the recognition they deserved until now. And this recognition sparked the idea to get together and work as a group again. NYS Music sat down with Joe Whiting and Mark Doyle to discuss the past and present of the roots rock band.
Creating the Initial Group
Joe Whiting, a Skaneateles, NY native, and Mark Doyle, hailing from Auburn, NY, met when they took part in a jam session hosted by a music teacher. They were aware of each other for a couple years and things clicked the first time they played together. Whiting and Doyle played a couple of gigs with some rotating musicians-“bits and pieces”- before they formed a real group. Doyle said the group’s formation was “serendipitous” and formed around 1968.
Doyle was teaching guitar lessons at Music Mart, a music store that used to be in Auburn. Dick Howard, a bit of a local legend and shop owner, introduced Doyle to their would-be drummer: Tom Glaister. Tom was out on a Salvation Army truck delivery when he stopped by the store to say a quick hello to Howard. “[Doyle and Glaister] hit it off and somehow he ended up in the band. These things just happened” according to Doyle. Doyle then met George Egosarian at “The Beach” on Marshall St. in Syracuse. Though it’s not there today, it was a space that was across from what’s now Pita Pit for those familiar with Syracuse’s Marshall St. today. It was a big grassy area next to a parking lot where the “hipsters” used to hang out, smoke weed, drop acid, etc. Egosarian started on bass in the group and later transitioned to second guitar. John DeMaso eventually joined the group and became the bass player. Glaister left before the second album, and his talents were so great they opted to replace him with two drummers to fill the void: Danny Coward and Kevin Shwaryk.
Record Deal and Name Change
Before the group was called Jukin’ Bone, they were known as Free Will. Free Will signed with some promoters that worked with Concerts West on the premise that they could help the band secure a record deal. The band played a brutal showcase in New York City that was five sets a night for five consecutive nights. The showcase attracted A&R scouts from various record labels to sign new talent. The band’s efforts were rewarded when they received two record deal offers: one from Janus Records and a “better” offer from RCA. The band signed with RCA.
RCA had strict union policies and mandated that their artists record only in their studios. When someone ratted the band out to RCA for recording a demo at a non-RCA studio, RCA said they had to change the name. Whiting recalled that they had to record the demo again in RCA’s studios just as a formality.
“The first RCA album was a disgrace” according to Doyle. Their producer, Lewis Merenstein, had the vision to record a live album at Electric Lady Studios. Live albums can be a great way to capture the live energy, but their final product was greatly compromised by the hippies off the street in attendance and the “buffet of booze and drugs.” The group would stumble up to the stage to perform multiple takes and the “least offensive takes made the record.” That was Whiskey Woman. The second album was slightly better because it was recorded in the studio, but it still wasn’t what they considered their best sound. That was Way Down East. Neither album adequately captured the essence of Jukin’ Bone’s sound.
Eventually, RCA bought the band out of their agreement before they recorded a third album. “By then the wheels started to come off in all aspects.”
Besides the recording, the group shared their music on tour all around North America, from New York to Minnesota, Florida, Texas, and more. They opened up for the Allman Brothers, ZZ Top, The Kinks, and John Mayall just to name a few.
While opening for John Mayall at a college in Rochester, the power went out not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, but 5 times! This was a rocky start as this was during their first song. But they earned fan support as they persevered and played through it.
Though their tour life was relatively mild, they did manage to crack up a few Winnebagos in their travels. When traveling to Texas, they’d drive without stopping from New York. “You gotta be young and high” to do those drives.
The Interim
Before they reunited as a group, Doyle and Whiting kept up with their musical careers and continued their friendship even as the band parted ways. Whiting did stints with Bobby Comstock who had a few hits in the late 50s, Elf, and Savoy Brown. He really focused on his own band for years which opened for Van Halen.
Doyle, who also had an interest in production, worked on a number of records playing and producing. Doyle found that working with great producers was a fantastic way to learn. He played with Meat Loaf and spent time with the record producer Tom Dowd. He saw how to bring performances out of musicians when he observed Arif Mardin in the studio with Andy Pratt. He also hooked up with David Werner and learned from that experience how NOT to produce a record.
Unfinished Business
Fast forward to 2017/2018. The band finally earned the recognition they deserved in the Syracuse community. Whiting called Doyle and asked him “what if we got together and made the record we never got to make?” Doyle didn’t even have to think about it before saying yes. George Egosarian and John DeMaso were also on board and they got to writing.
Prior to this, Doyle had played on a couple of Jimi Hendrix project albums for an Italian record label. The head of the label contacted him ten years later and asked about leasing the early Free Will music. (Not Jukin’ Bone!) This call happened to be the day after Whiting phoned Doyle and this gave them a way to fund the new record.
Aptly named, Unfinished Business is a true Jukin’ Bone masterpiece comprised of all new material. They wrote from scratch, not relying on any residual music from the past.
The first song written was “Nothin’ to Lose.” The old Motown song “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now” was stuck in Doyle’s head, and was a sentiment the group felt with this fresh chance. They eventually came to “Ain’t Got Nothing to Lose” to substitute in the song instead. Egosarian, “the master of the unobvious phrase,” got to work on the lyrics which Joe fine tuned later. They were off and running with the rest of the album from there.
The old Gibson SG was used on the new record; Egosarian played it on “End of the Bar” just to have it on there. When asked about how his voice has held up all these years, Whiting says he doesn’t really have a secret in terms of maintenance. He feels has a better high and low end than he ever did, and he feels his voice has held up because he says, “I never shut up.”
They recruited Syracuse University professor Josh Dekaney to play drums on the album. They wanted a percussionist with a classical training like their former drummer. The album was recorded as they wrote between Doyle’s home studio and More Sound Recording Studio and engineered by Jason “Jaco” Randall and Andrew Greacen.
They went into this new project with no expectations. They just wanted to make good music and set the record straight!
Key Tracks: Nothing to Lose, End of the Bar, Gris Gris
Shows in August
With the new album comes live shows. Jukin’ Bone will be playing two nights at Auburn Public Theater in Auburn, NY. The shows are August 17 and 18, and there may be future live dates depending on how this goes. More show information can be found here.
Don’t miss a great opportunity to see some local legends doing what they love once again!
The Salt City’s annual rite of summer, Taste of Syracuse, kicks off Friday June 1 and runs through June 2, 2018. The annual free festival pairs the region’s foods and music in Downtown’s Clinton Square. This year’s headliner is ’90s alt-pop icons, Smash Mouth.
The fest’s claim to fame is the $1 food samples from the various eateries set up in the square. You can find the full dollar menu here.
Other than the food, Taste of Syracuse also provides a great free look at the wealth of musical talent from Syracuse and surrounding areas. With three stages, there is no shortage of music to be found. Things get going at noon Friday with Just Joe on the Clinton Square Stage, Peg Newell and Robyn Stockdale on the Erie Boulevard Stage and Max Scialdone on the Main Stage.
https://youtu.be/1X0BB-61s6Q
Music continues throughout the day with soul being the theme on the Clinton Square Stage. Tanksley performs at 6:30 p.m. followed by Israel Hagen’s Stroke at 7:45 p.m. Prime Time closes out the night at 9:30 p.m.
The Erie Boulevard Stage gets funky Friday night with a double shot of Root Shock and Sophistafunk. The two Syracuse bands recently paired for a mini-tour together called the Salt City Shakedown that also included Syracuse’s Skunk City. Root Shock won the 2017 SAMMY award for Best New Artist and also captured the NYS Music March Madness title that year. Country Swagg and Hard Promises close out the Main Stage Friday night.
Saturday gets started at noon with Lori Ann singing the oldies on the Clinton Square stage. Syracuse’s master of the slide guitar, Colin Aberdeen will get funky on the Erie Boulevard Stage at the same time.
Colin Aberdeen performing at the Dinosaur BBQ in April 2017
The Main Stage on Saturday will feature Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest at at 1:30, followed by the folk rock stylings of Poor Tim, featuring Shawn “Big Sexy” Smith, a former contestant on NBC’s The Voice and Justin Smithson, who has performed at Carnegie Hall.
Chris Eves and the New Normal follow Poor Tim. The New Normal’s single “Green and Blue” was recently included on Relix magazine’s June Digital Sampler. You can listen on Spotify below:
Country act, Grit and Grace and the latest “Vinyl Albums Live” set, “The ’90s Mix Tape” follow. Closing out the main stage and the festival is ’90s pop group, Smash Mouth.
Other acts performing on Saturday include Grateful Dead tribute act Dark Hollow, hip hop from Joe Driscoll and the Brownskin Band, Americana from the Old Main, and funk from Skunk City on the Erie Boulevard Stage.
The Clinton Street stage features the soulful alt-rock of the Black River, Tim Herron and Great Blue, Soul Risin’ and the Barndogs DELUXE.
Attendance to the two-day festival is free. For the complete schedule, see below.
July 6th – You will not want to miss Andy Frasco’s “party blues with a touch of barefoot boogie,” style as him and his band bring feel good music to Funk ‘N Waffles with The UN. Click the link for more event and ticket details. 
Halfway through Paramore’s set, the band took a quick break to allow their crew to set up the stage for an acoustic mini set. They came back out to perform a cover of “Passionfruit,” “Misguided Ghosts” and “26.” This was a very intimate and personal portion of the set with Williams sharing some insight on how she felt now as opposed to when she initially wrote “Misguided Ghosts” and even teased about the audience giving her a therapy session.
Creating the Initial Group
