The record release party for Hartley’s Encore filled the Hollow on Friday, April 27 in Albany, NY. The eight-piece band worked the excited crowd up until the floors shook with dancing until the wee hours. The self-titled debut album, released on 4/20, served as the bright and energetic soundtrack to one funky night. While it’s easy to label the band as funk, the jazz, soul and R&B elements are also clear.
Albany’s own funk band, Hartley’s Encore, formed just over a year ago with 2003 Guilderland High School Graduates, Luke Malamood (Keys), Chris Oliver (Guitar), and Jeff Nania (Saxophone), as well as Josh Gordon and Brad Monkell (Bass), Mike Gilet and Erik Pravel (Drums), Alex Gonzalez (Percussion), Phil Chow (Trumpet), and Zach Lauzon (Trombone). The group’s next show is on May 18th at Bowery Electric in New York, NY. While this was my first time seeing the band, it most definitely won’t be my last.
I first caught Hartley’s Encore late last year when they performed at Guthrie Bell’s 25th anniversary show at The Hollow. Funk is on the rise in Albany, and Hartley’s Encore honed in on the reason why – the influence of funk forefathers Soulive whose albums are influencing the next generation of funk musicians. Their self-titled debut album is an alive EP, all killer, no filler.
The core of Hartley’s Encore – Luke Malamood, Jeff Nania and Chris Oliver – graduated from Guilderland High School in 2003, but their playing together goes back to the early 90’s when they were in first grade and Luke learned to play piano at Jeff’s while Jeff was learning trumpet. The core of Hartley’s Encore, Luke Malamood (keys/vocals), Jeff Nania (saxophone) and Chris Oliver (guitar) sat down with NYS Music to get behind the band name, talk about their early introductions to funk and their love of Soulive.
Pete Mason: Where does the band’s name originate from?
LukeMalamood: It comes from the time Chris and I were working on this project in fall 2016 and Titanic was on TV and my daughter was watching it and as the ship is sinking, the band keeps playing even as they know they are going to their certain death, but it provided relief for those who were trying to survive. The band leader, Wallace Hartley, is the one who says ‘it’s been an honor and a privilege’ and it was easy to find some info about him. In a loose way, this is right around the time we’re gearing up for the craziest presidential election ever, and people were saying the world is coming to an end, so Hartley’s Encore is a loose tribute to the band and bandleader and we think it’s important that we do what we do.
Chris Oliver: For me, the encore thing, when we decided on it, it was real in an historical sense, but Luke and I have played together for years, and he and I reuniting was its own encore. So it made sense to have the name Hartley’s Encore.
PM: What was the experience like working with Alan Evans (Soulive) at Iron Wax Studios?
Jeff Nania: We did the second Chronicles album with Alan and one thing I like about this approach is that he doesn’t make you try to sound a particular way, he has the mics and know-how to make you sound the best. Before having heard us, because we didn’t have any recordings yet, he asked for three records we really liked that he could use to get a vibe for our sound.
CO: Tower of Power Tower of Power, The Meters Rejuvenation and Dr. John Desitively Bonnaroo were the three we shared, and it’s pretty clear to some extent that we wear our influences on our sleeve. When we got there, he said ‘give me a year’ to reference, and I said “Whatever year ‘Hey Pocky Way’ came out.” (1988) Alan was pretty hands off and wanted to make us sound as good as he could. I was pretty intimidated from a musical standard but I went in there and he lets you go in there and do you. He prioritizes the artist remaining true to who they are, and as a guitar player and songwriter we were allowed to go in there and just be us.
LM: There was an intimidation factor working with Alan that grew out of the first time I saw Soulive in October of 2003. We had just graduated from high school and a bunch of our friends had gone to Bonnaroo and everyone was all about Soulive. When we went to see him, it was incredible seeing any of them. Neal Evans is my hero, he has to be one of the funkiest dudes on the planet. His left hand I would put up against any bassist in the business. When Neal was active in Lettuce, even with Jesus Coomes who’s a monster bassist, Neal was also hold down the bass parts. Even though I’d met Neal and Alan, it felt like hallowed ground just being there with Neal’s brother. It was like hip hop beats with jazz and funk. He was probably the biggest question mark having met Neal and (Eric) Krasno in the past, but Alan I didn’t know too well. He was the coolest guy and I couldn’t have asked for this experience to be any better and professional. I got to play on one of Neal’s organs and he was the coolest, sweetest dude. Justin Henricks had a great experience working on the Wurliday record so it was a no brainer for us to work with him. He met and exceeded our expectations. Both Wurliday and Hartley’s Encore had the album mastered by Brad Smalling at EverGroove Recording Studio, so two funk bands from the Albany area got the same treatment done on their first albums.
PM: What were the early funk experiences that tipped you towards making genre of music?
CO: I was probably the last person to get on the funk train. When I moved back to Albany a few years ago, Luke sent me a Meters album and “People Say” was the one that hooked me.
LM: I have been obsessed with Soulive since I first saw them play at Rev. Hall in the fall of 2003. Are they a “funk” band per se…I mean, I hate labels in music to begin with. Plus, I’ve yet to read a definition of the word “funk” anywhere that I can wholeheartedly endorse. To me, with funk, it’s like, I know it when I hear it. Soulive is jazz, soul, hip-hop, and of course, funk. More importantly, I look at Soulive, and their cousins Lettuce (really the whole “Royal Family”), plus probably Dumpstaphunk and Galactic, as the godfathers of the growing modern funk/soul scene, as it currently exists. I was in college from 2003-2007, at Villanova, right outside of Philly. Between being at home and being away at school, with all of the incredible Philly venues at my fingertips, I got to see all of these modern funk/soul godfathers when I was relatively young, and I listened to them a lot (Jamiroquai too). Those guys never shied away from celebrating their influences, so through them, I got really turned-on to a lot of the funk/soul OGs: James Brown, Parliament/Funkadelic, Stevie Wonder, The Meters, Earth, Wind & Fire, Tower of Power, and Average White Band, to name a few. Of course I had heard “Cold Sweat,” “Superstition,” “September” and even “Cissy Strut” before, but these modern godfathers really wet my appetite to go back and dig in some more.
Then, (though I’d spent one boozy night in NOLA with some buddies during my senior year in college), my first real trip to New Orleans was in March 2009, a that trip changed my life (in more ways than one). Among other things, I made my first trip to the Louisiana Music Factory, a legendary record store in New Orleans, and got my hands on my first Meters record, which I believe was Rejuvenation. As one of my favorite singer/songwriter/pianist/keyboardists, Jon Cleary, has said, “Funk is the ethnic folk music of New Orleans,” and once I got my first real taste of that, being down there, I was hooked. Ever since then, with multiple trips back to New Orleans, countless nights at Brooklyn Bowl (especially for Bowlive!), and really me just digging deep into the genre, I’ve connected the dots between the modern funk/soul godfathers of today’s scene and the OGs. I am now way down the funk/soul Rabbit Hole, have been for years! It feels real good in here, and there’s a lot of love to go around, so I’ve got no plans of coming out any time soon!
JN: I think I discovered Soulive in my sophomore year of high school. When I was younger my dad was a jazz head and I was constantly listening to jazz in high school, especially Blue Note records which was legendary label, with Wayne Shorter and Coltrane’s most famous albums. I was dating a singer/songwriter who she worked at Coconuts in Stuyvesant Plaza and she gave me a handful of CDs. There were two that popped out – Medeski Martin and Wood’s Shack-Man and The Dropper. Soulive Turn it Out was the first record I had heard of theirs. I dug it at the time because Blue Note was putting out some new jazz and I was coming at it from a new angle.
PM: What has the Albany reception been like, having only started out a little more than a year and a half ago?
LM: I’d give credit to Justin (Henricks) who started the Funk Night at City Beer Hall (ed note: now held at Parish Public House) that started to be a time when I could get out to see live music again after having two kids. Much like funk night, the reception has been pretty consistent and incredible as we’ve had max capacity shows and shows with like seven people there. In the funk and soul genre, we’ve only had a jam band thing in Albany and that overlaps to the funk scene, as well as an Indie scene. I think there is a healthy scene here in Albany and we can do it with the best in terms of being a small city. There are a lot of things that go into the reality of venues on given nights. Early on, we leaned heavily on friends and family to turn out. But gradually, slowly, we started to organically make some fans, the kind who keep coming to shows and we know by name. We were lucky enough to have Greg Bell add us to some big shows, including his 25th anniversary show. Slowly but surely, we started to see some people organically catching onto this, and that’s really what I think our goal would be – play once or twice a month and get people out to the show and have a celebration.
CO: Both Luke and I will admit we are better songwriters than musicians. When we put our heads down and kept getting big on our own, Jeff took us under his wing, and given his playing in the region for the past seven or so years, we started to meet musicians and people who were in the scene and it kind of allowed us to get to where we are now and it helped us tremendously. I got out to see Justin Henricks and people who were doing it in Albany and that connection came from Jeff.
LM: this is a snapshot of who we are now, and we can attribute it to people like Greg Bell putting us on shows and NYS Music giving us some love and helpful in getting us to be able to be welcomed in this community.
Hartley’s Encore released their self-titled debut album on April 20 and will have to album release shows in coming weeks. Catch them at The Hollow on Friday, April 27 with Victory Soul Orchestra and at Bowery Electric on May 18 with Sauce on the Side. At both shows, Luke, Jeff and Chris will be joined by a rotating rhythm section of Josh Gordon and Brad Monkell (bass), Mike Gilet and Erik Pravel (drums), Phil Chow (trumpet), and Alex Gonzalez (percussion). Hartley’s Encore is now available on Spotify and Apple Music.
After the release of their debut album No B! in 2016, the five piece punk-blues powerhouse caught much deserved attention among NYC’s club scene. Since then, Jane Lee Hooker has spread like a wildfire: one that certainly won’t be extinguished anytime soon.
Spiritus, the band’s second album, was released in November of 2017. Primarily comprised of original music, Spiritus further explores JLH’s unorthodox take on the blues. The ten-track release is riddled with undeniably catchy hooks, superb guitar licks, and just the right amount of grit.
The album goes from 0 to 60 in a matter of seconds with the first track, titled “How Ya Doin’?” From there, Spiritus takes a step back with some slow/moderately paced jams (including the most popular track “Later On,” which currently has over 21,000 spins on Spotify).
But don’t be fooled; halfway through, Spiritus lifts off once again with “Black Rat.” Shortly afterward, to the listener’s unexpected surprise, the album takes a moody turn with a downtempo track titled “How Bright the Moon.” And to wrap things up, Spiritus comes full circle with the longest track on the album, “The Breeze.”
To say the least, Spiritus is bold, nostalgic, and groundbreaking. If you’re in search of a sound that steps far beyond the boundaries of modern rock music, Jane Lee Hooker’s gotcha covered. Keep up with JLH on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Will Hanza, guitarist of Escaper has been enjoying the success of the group’s sophomore release Edge Detection and still buzzing about meeting Jon Fishman. Hanza spoke to NYS Music about the songwriting style that encompasses their new album, Escaper’s summer plans and jazz influences that create a monolithic jam fusion sound.
Pete Mason: What was it like opening for The Mallett Brothers Band and Jon Fishman?
Will Hanza: Well, we’ve sort of become regulars at Brooklyn Bowl, it’s our home venue really, and recently opened for Electric Beethoven. Working with the folks at Brooklyn Bowl is great, the sound and Vic Cornette on lights is a musician himself and he really works with you. This was our most jammiest show yet, opening the songs up in the moment in a way that keyed us into the improv we should be doing, avoiding meandering and allowing the moment to take over and launch from there. The reaction to the set was great on Thursday (April 12th). The Mallett Brothers are a really great band, and watching Fishman drum from side-stage was a treat. He was nice enough to say that he liked Escaper and that we had that Pink Floyd kind of vibe, which pretty much made my year.
PM: What musical influences came through in the production of the Edge Detection?
WH: The band comes from some diverse backgrounds, including myself who has a father who is a jazz musician, plus Zeppelin and Hendrix are in me. Lettuce and TAUK and more instrumentally oriented bands in the scene – we don’t want to sound like them, but they’re paving the way for what things fans are into, particularly instrumental music. Johnny Butler comes from Coltrane and jazz. Adam Ahuja comes from a pretty heavy jazz background, and is really into Mahavishnu Orchestra. For lack of a better word, this allows for a fusion of sounds, and that comes from combining jazz, classic psychedelic rock, funk rock, and I think it comes together cohesively in the process of what we take with these songs.
Some of the songs on Edge Detection were written out of live jams. We hear them and cultivate them from loose jams that we’ve been digging. We ran out of songs at one of our first shows in January 2016 at B.R.Y.A.C., so we played and improvised, which led to some of these songs being born, including the first two tracks on the album, “Secret Weapon” and “Rare Form.”
PM: What was Escaper’s songwriting process for Edge Detection?
WH: The well rounded sound comes out of that process where we start with a groove, like Jay will start with a bass line, then the keys will add in, then the drums … it’s a little loose at the start, and soon a whole beast is starting to get formed as we go back and listen and see what parts work best. We don’t write songs and then ask everyone to learn it – Escaper builds on the idea that this is everybody’s band, and everyone gets equal credit on the songwriting. I want everyone to feel that this is their band and their music. I am honored to play with the cats I get to play with, not the least because they are invested in the music as much as I am. It’s a challenge and exciting to have a bunch of collaborators create music that you could never do on your own. We all recorded simultaneously in the studio, which gives that sense of synergy and react to each other in the moment, rather than layering things over and over.
PM: How was the reception to Edge Detection and what did you learn from the recording process and release of the album?
WH: The response has been very nice, very strong. We’ve only had a handful of reviews but they’ve all been positive and hey reflect our growth since the first album. The recording process was similar to the last album Skeleton Key and we have found recording in the Bunker Studio in Brooklyn with engineer John Davis (Lettuce, Black Keys) to be our spot and we’ve found a great relationship working with him. He’s brilliant, has a good bedside manner and while we were in there recording, we felt very at home. He’s taken time to get to know us as players to squeeze a better performance out of us while keeping the recording efficient and everything flowing. I don’t know we’d do much different on the next album, but we might add some vocals on the next one.
PM: Where are fans going to be able to see you over the next few months?
WH: We sort of kicked off the festival season playing Rock n Roll Resort, and we’ll do a couple club dates mixed in, but we’re doing a decent amount of festivals – Grateful for Spring in Mountain Sky, PA, then Elements Lakewood, Lakewood, PA on Memorial Day weekend. Disc Jam is definitely one of the highlights on our schedule coming up in early June. We’re doing Bear’s Picnic and Mazzstock in August. Being invited to play any festival is an honor and opportunity that is a great way to pollinate our music in these various places and that can only help us into a touring schedule in the fall in New York and Pennsylvania. It’s all about getting the music out there like Johnny Appleseed – the more that can enjoy, the happier we are.
BB King’s Blues Club & Grill in NYC’s Times Square announced that it will be closing its doors, citing a rent hike as the reason for closing. The lineup for the final week includes shows by William Bell’s Memphis Soul Revue (April 22), Rick Ross (April 23), Slick Rick & Doug E. Fresh (April 25), El Gran Combo (April 26), and George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic (April 28). The finale on April 29 features Buddy Guy. Tickets are on sale now.
photo: Steve Malinski, NYS Music
“Despite many sold out shows, the location’s rent escalated to an unsustainable level, leaving us no choice but to close our doors. Unfortunately this has become a growing trend in New York City, with other iconic music venues and businesses falling victim to opportunistic property owners. This venue’s legacy extends much further than the stage, playing a role in Times Square’s revitalization two decades ago. It is a shame that wasn’t taken into consideration regarding its future in the area. Nevertheless, we feel extremely grateful for the overwhelming support we have received from both fans and artists over the years to create some truly historic and incredible memories in this space. We hope that we can find a new place to call home very soon so we can continue bringing live music to you all.”
– Tsion Bensusan, chief operating officer
B.B. King Blues Club & Grill Closing Week Celebration Show Schedule:
April 17 & 18 Buddy Guy
April 22 William Bell’s Memphis Soul Revue
April 23 Rick Ross
April 25 Slick Rick & Doug E. Fresh + Special Guests
April 26 El Gran Combo
April 28 George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic + Special Guests
April 29 Buddy Guy
Ghost Light kicked off the second leg of their debut tour on Wednesday, April 11. The scene’s newest supergroup, consisting of Tom Hamilton (Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, American Babies, Brothers Past, Electron, and former Phil and Friends member), Holly Bowling, Steve Lyons (Nico’s Gun), Raina Mullen (American Babies) and Scotty Zwang (Dopapod), made their east coast debut at Brooklyn Bowl with support from Colorado favourites Magic Beans. Ghost Light’s show consisted of some favourites from Tom Hamilton’s past projects along with some fresh improvisations, and a couple of covers from The Stones and The Dead.
Magic Beans:
Set One:
Give Me Something Real, Mission -> Do Your Thing, Mr Scientist, Lewd -> Lost and Found
Ghost Light:
Set 1: Untitled Jam, Simple Gift of Man *, Streets of Brooklyn
Set 2: Untilted Song> Sway+> Lead Weight > Bullseye Blues
E: Jack Straw&
* Brothers Past Cover, First Time Played
+ Rolling Stones Cover, First Time Played
& Grateful Dead Cover First Time Played
This past weekend, Amy Helm kicked off her second annual Woodshed Residency Tour, a revolving run of shows that is split between three venues across New York State and Massachusetts. Night one was held at Albany NY’s The Hollow Bar, a return venue for Helm, and the ebullient and groovy kickoff show set the bar for the whole trip at a lofty height.
Each stop on the Woodshed Tour will feature guests that Helm has procured from her ever expanding roster of musical friends and colleagues. Rocking night one at The Hollow Bar was The London Souls guitarist Tash Neal, Chris Robinson Brotherhood bassist Jeff Hill, Woodstock-based guitarist and keyboardist Connor Kennedy, and Brooklyn-based Yuval Lion on drums. Just like the late Levon, her old man, Amy Helm seems to have an affinity for not only surrounding herself with incredible artists, but for getting the most out of them on stage. Together, the four-piece made for a seriously airtight jam session that on the one side played Helm’s originals very professionally, but on the other hand had a lot of daring and creative fun with a slew of cover tunes.
But Helm first dove into the former, offering confident and well received versions of songs from her first and latest album, Didn’t It Rain. “Odetta” and “Didn’t it Rain” opened the evening with a grand, almost spiritual feel. Later on, “Rescue Me” from this same album hit off with The Hollow crowd as much if not more than any other tune of the evening.
The show also included a whole mess of other covers, which as Helm has described is another element naturally built into the essence of the Woodshed Tour—Helm’s background has given her an affinity for tributing the rich and expansive americana songbook that makes up her musical universe. Every cover at the Hollow was appreciated in full, as Helm and her jam session put a shine on all of them. One of the first was a Mary Goshen cover upon which the band flexed out a breezy little jam, that eventually cascaded into an “I Know You Rider.” The apex of the evening clearly revealed itself after this in the uptempo version of “Will The Circle Be Unbroken,” for which Helm and crew gathered around one microphone. It imbued a stripped-down feel to the buzz of the night until Neal put a cool, Dick-Dale-style guitar solo on it.
One of the strongest delivered covers was a rousing take on “Michigan” by The Milk Carton Kids—a terrific songwriting duo of brothers out of California. The end of this one featured a frenetic and trilling guitar solo from Kennedy. Other gems included a Ronnie Hawkins tune, sung by, in Helm’s words, “one of the greatest singers of all time” (Richard Manuel), and a bubbly take on The Pointer Sister’s “Yes We Can Can,” which Helm clearly was hip-hop style verses.
For sure, Helm has implied challenges of stage fright throughout her past, but today it seems that on stage any supposed nervousness washes away pretty quickly. Every single time the music revved back up, almost uncontrollably Helm was persuaded by the energy of the band and the responsive crowd, and repeatedly took command of it all. She became the center of her little musical melting pot, and shined as a lead singer, as a troubadour, as a stage performer.
Helm and her bandmates hung out afterwards around The Hollow’s bar, trading stories with fans and taking photos. It encompassed the spirit that seems to be at the center of this Woodshed Tour, and The Hollow seems to be a no-brainer, choice spot for a tour of this musically rare nature.
The tour continues this Sunday night with another set at The Hollow, among dates at other venues such as Marlboro’s The Falcon, Northampton’s Parlor Room, and NYC’s Rockwood Music Hall.
Cousin Earth are gearing up for the release of Human Music, the group’s second album, and have released the video for “Train Luck,” a rebuke of the NYC subway system and MTA as a whole. The unique lyric video has a late 70s early music video feel, pulling on influences from Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention and overlapping vocals that create a symphonic sound over the ukulele driven solos.
Bassist Corey Feldman shares his frustrations. “As long-time New Yorkers, we have learned to channel our deep hatred for ‘train traffic’ by playing this song. Joe Calfa crafted this tune, and we all immediately jumped on board as we have all felt the wrath of mass transit.” Given recentfrustrations with the city’s handling of the aging subway system, “Train Luck” channels the mood towards the MTA perfectly.
Cousin Earth’s upcoming album Human Music is due out on April 27 on all platforms and they’ll perform that night at Bowery Electric with The Phyrg and Hunt for Hunter.
Baked Shrimp, one of Long Island’s best kept secrets, recently released their album Feast of Delight, showcasing the band’s various styles and genres, including multi-part compositions, radio-friendly pop songs and even a folk song in the single “Orpheus.”
Since forming in January 2017, Baked Shrimp has broken into the Long Island and NYC jam scene and, over the course of the past year, the high-energy rock trio have played unique shows across the Northeast and are looking to build on that success in 2018 with the release of Feast of Delight that puts front and center a distinct ’90s indie vibe.
“The Manatee,” a 10 minute gentle giant, gets heavy in the right spots, features elements of post-punk emerging throughout and gives off a Disco Biscuits feel with the continuous vibe built throughout. “Dick Turk” has wide ranging guitar play from Jared Cowen, a versatile stand out, especially on “Machiavellian” which contains guitar work that makes the song a distant cousin of Henry Mancini’s calliope in “Baby Elephant Walk,” building firmly and erupting for a fire-y ending.
“Orpheus” is the lightest fare on the album, but the acoustic sing along makes it a perfect single off the album and stands out just before the closing “Chimera,” which has a distinct Ominous Seapods feel, even if the bands are nearly 25 years apart, and a little dose of Talking Heads’ “Cities,” wrapping up an album that will be perfect for afternoon listening and dancing to late into the night this summer. Tune into Feast of Light below, on Bandcamp, and check out live shows from Baked Shrimp on Archive.org
Jane Lee Hooker is back, and better than ever.
Pete Mason
