Seth Faergolzia stopped by The Bop Shop for the 10th of fifteen episodes in this season’s Rochester Indie Musician Spotlight. The experimental folk rock artist spoke with the show’s producer/host Dan Gross about Multibird and his other bands, his recent European tour, and participating in the 100 Songs Project. Following the interview segment, Faergolzia and the members of Multibird performed a selection of songs, including “Garbage Night,” “High Diver,” and “Yup’s Birthday.”
The Blues Foundation held its 39th Blues Music Awards on Thursday, May 10, in Memphis, Tennessee. Several award winners have appeared recently in Central New York, most notably at the Chenango Blues Festival. Victor Wainwright took home the prestigious Pinetop Perkins Best Instrumentalist – Piano Award, and Jason Ricci was named Best Instrumentalist – Harmonica. Both Wainwright and Ricci delivered jaw-dropping, show-stopping performances at the 2017 Chenango Blues Festival, reviewed by NYS Music’s Mike Kohli here.
Jason Ricci
Other winners that have appeared at Chenango through the years include Curtis Salgado, Soul Blues Male Artist; Southern Avenue, Best Emerging Artist Album; Ronnie Earl, Best Instrumentalist – Guitar; Samantha Fish, Contemporary Blues Female Artist; Mike Ledbetter, who won with Mike Welch for Traditional Blues Album for Right Place, Right Time on Delta Groove Records; Mike Zito, Rock Blues Artist; Rick Estrin, who won Band of the Year, Traditional Blues Male Artist, and Song of the Year, for “The Blues Ain’t Going Nowhere;” and the late, great Luther Allison, Best Historical Album for Luther Allison – A Legend Never Dies, Essential Recordings 1976-1997 (Ruf Records).
Other BMA nominees that have appeared at Chenango include Paul deLay, Guy Davis, Shemekia Copeland, Janiva Magness, Mitch Woods, Chris Cain, John Nemeth, Upstate New York’s own Tas Cru, (whose latest release, Memphis Song, was recorded at SubCat Studios in Syracuse), Anson Funderburgh, Savoy Brown, Vanessa Collier, Sugaray Rayford, Anthony Geraci, and the North Mississippi All Stars. 2018 Festival performers Toronzo Cannon, The Cash Box Kings, and Elvin Bishop were also nominated.
Emerging Artist nominees Larkin Poe, quickly gaining followers and national attention, will headline opening night of the NYS Blues Festival in Syracuse on June 28.
Some of this year’s Blues Music Award winners can be seen throughout New York State this summer. Here is a partial list:
Jason Ricci can be seen in Ellicottville on June 2, and in Lima, NY on June 3.
Samantha Fish can be seen June 2 in Rochester at Flour City Station, June 7 at Daryl’s House in Pawling (already sold out), June 12 at Funk ‘n Waffles, Syracuse, and will return to Chenango on August 18. A NYS Music review of her appearance at the Westcott Theater on February 9, 2018, can be viewed here.
Robert Cray stops in Vestal on June 13, and in Geneva on June 15.
Victor Wainwright will perform at Funk ‘n Waffles Syracuse with an early 6:00 p.m. show on July 6.
Beth Hart is on the bill with Kenny Wayne Shepherd at Albany’s Palace Theater, July 27.
Trombone Shorty visits Bethel, NY on August 11, and Lewiston, NY on August 14.
Rick Estrin & the Nightcats are scheduled to appear at Wakely’s on Varick, in Utica, NY on August 11.
Cincinnati synth-pop outfit, Founding Fathers, today debut their new video for “VHS,” a track from their latest album, Mating Rites. The retro feel of the video will immediately bring you back to the early days of MTV, when music videos were nascent and MTV actually played videos.
With a blend of synth-rock, funk, dance, and new wave, “VHS” is both an infectious composition and accompanying video. The band chose “VHS” for their video because of its upbeat and catchy nature, and gives a strong representation of their current sound, per Eric Johnson, guitarist of Founding Fathers.
The refrain “Pop me in like a VHS cassette, I wanna relive this moment again” has a Devo-esque quality to it and coupled with rustic blue screens for their effects, you’re getting a rough feel of what music videos had in store in the mid-80s. For 2018, this is a throwback video that hits all the right notes: a catchy tune, a poppy synth beat and four guys in purple who clearly loved making this video.
Founding Fathers vocalist and bassist, Mahoney (Matt Chmielewski) came up with the initial concept to capture the spirit of 80’s public access music videos. “It became a really appealing idea because we were able to do something visually entertaining, yet have an element of self-awareness and weirdness. It exacerbates the motif of over-using low budget video effects in public access videos,” said Johnson.
“VHS’ was produced by Mark Borison (The Mark) and Holland Rains of Local Favorite Productions. Catch Founding Fathers this month in Buffalo on Saturday, May 20 at Mohawk Place and in Manhattan on Wednesday May 23 at Bowery Electric. Listen to recent release Mating Rites below.
The F.X. Matt Brewery in Utica announced the lineup for its 20th anniversary Saranac Thursday series for 2018. The annual event showcases many local and regional acts with the occasional national act as well. This year’s series kicks off May 24 with the Rome-based classic rock outfit, Work Related.
In addition to 20 years of Saranac Thursdays, the brewery is celebrating 85 years of Utica Club, the brewery’s flagship beer, and 130 years of the F.X. Matt Brewing Company.
Gates to the courtyard open at 5:30 and performances begin at 6:00 p.m. each week. A portion of the proceeds benefits the United Way of the Valley and Greater Utica Area. The events have raised more than $600,000 dollar total to date.
2018 Saranac Thursday Schedule:
May 24 – Work Related
May 31 – Chris Eves & The New Normal
June 7 – Big Mean Sound Machine
June 14 – Eric Tessmer Band
June 21 – Our Common Roots
June 28 – Follow the Muse
July 5 – Gridley Paige
July 12 – Last Left
July 19 – LDF
July 26 – Sir Cadian Rhythm
Aug. 2 – Showtime
Aug. 9 – The Old Main
Aug. 16 – The Crazy Fools
Aug. 23 – Handsome Young Ladies
Aug. 30 – The Bomb
Sept. 6 – Floodwood
Summer Camp is almost upon us and that means it’s time to sign up for Field Day! Every year as Summer Camp becomes a must-attend for festivarians, the Field Day games keep getting bigger and better, and now enters its 8th year!
On Saturday afternoon of Summer Camp, right in the middle of all the music, favorites like dodgeball, capture the flag and tug-o-war are played between the Purple, Blue (current champions) Yellow, and (total cheaters) Red teams. Having competed over the years, Field Day is a great way to add in extra fun to your weekend while making new friends and having a ton of laughs. Check out photos from the last 7 years of Field Day.
Event times on Saturday, May 26th have been announced, so plan for an afternoon on the field between the Vibe Tent and Starshine Stage – perfect for all to enjoy music all afternoon while battling it out for glory. Sign up and bring your friends along for Field Day – score a free bandana and enjoy a free pizza and a keg from Lagunitas on Sunday for the winning team. Register for Field Day here – registration is free!
Rock musician, singer/songwriter Alejandro Escovedo, will bring his multiple talents to Capital Region when he takes the stage at the Cohoes Music Hall in Cohoes on May 11.
The show will also feature special guest Kris Gruen. Doors open at 7 p.m. and show time at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $25-$35. All ages are welcome.
Born in 1951, the Mexican-American musician’s guitar playing skills cross genres such as punk rock, roots rock, and alternative country. He comes from a family of musicians including brothers Coke and Pete Escovedo. Pop star of the late ’70s and early ’80s Sheila E., is Escovedo’s niece (Pete’s daughter).
Escovedo has released fifteen studio albums since 1992 including his latest effort, Burn Something Beautiful (2016). He collaborated with R.E.M. lead guitarist Peter Buck, and The Minus 5 member Scott McCaughey on songwriting for Burn Something Beautiful. The pair also helped produce the album. Throughout his career, Escovedo has collaborated on several albums including a tribute album to Moby Grape co-founder Skip Spence.
Alongside Jennifer Miro and Jeff Olener, Escovedo started his musical career in the punk rock group The Nuns during the ’70s music scene in San Francisco. In the ’80s, he moved on from The Nuns and teamed up with brothers and former The Dils members Chip and Tony Kinman to form the punk rock band Rank and File. Together they would release three studio albums before disbanding in 1987. He formed the band True Believers with his brother Javier.
When talking about how he carries his career, Escovedo stated: “You just do your good work, and people care. I always believed, when I was a kid, that if you worked hard, you would find fulfillment. I think I got a lot of that from my father and my brothers. A working musician is all I ever wanted to be. Hard work, stay true to what you want to do, and then eventually someone would notice for that very reason.”
The end of college can foster a variety of emotions, most commonly fear of the unknown and wonder in where the next path begins. For recent grads like Erez Zobary, her path of music is not only defined, but ensured in the raw talent behind her senior year creation of Love, and Lots of Sleep. This five track phenomena has a emphasis on r&b and soul electronica influences, reminiscent of NAO and Keri Hilson. She released the EP within weeks of graduating college, and with some diverse instrumentation, creative producers, and a lush and powerful voice, this is a strong first step into the music scene for Erez, and we’re certain she’ll have many strong releases to follow.
Each of the five tracks on this EP offer us a variety of colorful tempos thanks to producer Brian Han (stage name Brahny), with brilliant melodic lines overarching in each song. Most notably, the combination of rhythmic pulsing and melody on the chorus of “Tides” creates a well mixed, layered motion of sound. Contrasting from “Tides” in intensity is the ballad “November,” which features a delicate, tropical backdrop to support yet another catchy and clever melodic line in its chorus.
Gaining a huge following in her college’s city of Kingston, Ontario, her music still has many miles to travel to reach the ears of her bigger audience. Hopefully her time out of college will make way for more music, allowing her to expand the capabilities of her already well-developed vocal timbre. As she takes more risks as an artist in a post-grad world, we hope to see her grow in popularity, while developing a diverse discography to take her places all over the nation.
Disc Jam organizers released the daily lineups for this year’s festival, being held June 7-10 in Stephentown, NY. Daily headliners include Aqueous and Moon Hooch (Thursday), The Motet and Galactic (Friday), Beats Antique and Lotus (Saturday) and Tom Marshall’s Amfibian All-Stars (Sunday). Late night acts include Gubbulidis and solo sets from Ryan Dempsey and Brook Jordan, all of Twiddle (Thursday), DJ Logic & Friends and Barber Acoustic (Friday), and Electron and Tom Hamilton & Holly Bowling (Saturday).
Tickets for the festival are available now. Attendees can purchase full weekend passes or daily passes. Information on ticketing can be found at the Disc Jam website.
Artists at Large
Once again, Disc Jam will have some of the biggest names in the jam scene performing throughout the festival, collaborating with artists and bands each day. Artists at Large for Disc Jam 2018 include Eli Winderman and Rob Compa (Dopapod), Michelangelo Carruba, Shira Elias, Craig Brodhead, Chris Brouwers, Greg Sanderson, Josh Schwartz (Turkuaz), DJ Logic, and Honeycomb. Experience the collective nature of the Disc Jam community as these incredible musicians join more than 100 artists this June 7-10 in Stephentown, NY.
Woods Stage Artists
This year, Disc Jam has four of the hottest promoters in the Northeast taking over the Woods Stage for themed electronic dance music takeovers. Thursday night will be produced by Rezinate, well known for promoting some of the sought after underground parties and events in Boston. Friday’s duties go to Minus Zero Festival co-producers, NV Concepts, who will be presenting an entire night from the top house music artists off the Dirtybird Records Label, including Christian Martin, Kill Frenzy, Golf Clap and Ardalan. On Saturday, Brooklyn-based Sermon will host a night of bass music with U.K. producer Joker topping their list of wompy artists. The Wook of Wall Street will be hosting nightly curated Silent Disco Sets that go until sunrise.
Disc Jam Flow Tribe
Disc Jam Flow Tribe performances at Disc Jam are a staple for attendees and will once again include a renowned team of well rounded performance artists who have been a major part of the Disc Jam family since 2012. The featured flow artist for 2018 is world renowned Hula Hooper Rachael Lust. Rachael will be hosting flow arts workshops for beginner to expert levels, with multiple sessions each day. A variety of workshops will be offered to broaden the mind, body and spirit. Choose from Wellness, Flow Arts, Yoga, Painting, Disc Golf, and Permaculture classes available daily.
Visual Artists
Visual artists, including live painters and artists, will create massive murals and art installations throughout the site all weekend long. Featured artists Gabriel Welch, Stephen Kruse, Andy Reed, Raf Mata and many more will be creating murals, as well as curating an art gallery tent where attendees can view and buy artwork from all of the artists.
Disc Golf Tournaments
Disc golf is a game for experts, beginners, and everyone in between. Playing at least one round is a must for Disc Jam enthusiasts and the course encourages both the avid and first timer players to try their hand, all at no additional cost to play (outside of tournaments), with discs provided free of charge for those interested in playing.
Disc Golf Tournaments for men and women are held on Saturday and Sunday mornings, with cash and prizes from Innova Disc Golf, Grassroots California, Vibram Five Fingers shoes, Native Eyewear, Suspended in the Trees Hammocks, The Earth Ship Tents and more going to the top finishers. Nationally ranked and touring Team Innova Disc Golf Pro Gregg Barsby will be hosting the tournaments as well as playing rounds, hosting workshops and clinics all weekend long.
Road to Disc Jam Tour
Having kicked off in April, more than 20 Disc Jam artists will perform at 11 venues across seven states including New York, New England and Pennsylvania, with free Disc Jam tickets given away as a door prize at each show.
April 27 – Funky Dawgz Brass Band, Congo Sanchez and Honeycomb – Jewel Music, Manchester, NH April 28 – Formula 5 and Space Carnival – The Hollow Bar and Kitchen, Albany, NY
April 28 – Congo Sanchez – Strange Brew Pub, Norwich, CT
May 4 – Strange Machines and The Clock Reads – Electric Haze, Worcester, MA May 10 – Marbin and Swimmer – Buffalo Iron Works, Buffalo, NY
May 11 – Swimmer and Goose – Nectar’s, Burlington, VT
May 11 – The Wook of Wall Street Pre-Jawn – Sprout Music Collective, West Chester, PA May 17 – Borg Party (members of Dopapod, Turkuaz, Giant Panda) – Flour City Station, Rochester, NY
May 17 – Consider the Source – River Street Jazz Cafe, Wilkes-Barre, PA
May 17 – Kung Fu – Hawks and Reed Performing Arts Center, Greenfield, MA
May 18 – Harsh Armadillo – Arch Street Tavern, Hartford, CT May 18 – Funktional Flow and Swimmer – Funk n Waffles, Syracuse, NY May 19 – Bella’s Bartok and Cousin Earth – Funk n Waffles, Syracuse, NY
May 24 – West End Blend and Craig Brodhead (Turkuaz) – Fete Music Hall, Providence, RI
See the daily schedule and the 2018 Disc Jam announcement below:
moe. has added two more dates to their 2018 calendar with a return to Saranac Brewery in Utica, NY on September 7 and 8. The multi-band bill for the annual weekend of shows includes Aqueous opening the night on Friday, and Moon Hooch and Darryl Rahn kicking things off on Saturday.
A limited number of VIP packages are available and include a brewery tour guided by the members of moe. with a post-tour beer and acoustic performance by the band. VIP tickets will be available at here alongside an online presale for general admission tickets as of Wednesday, May 9 at 10am ET. The public on sale will begin at 10am ET on Friday, May 11. Please visit moe.org for more information. moe will also return to Runaway Bay, Jamaica for the third installment of moe.’s tropical throedown.org. Jan. 10 – 14, 2019.
EB Rebel, a New York City emcee, producer and lyricist, has released her latest music video for “Spiritual,” off her upcoming sophomore EP Mama, I’m OK. This powerfully uplifting track pays homage to EB’s Dallas, Texas roots and follows the success of her debut EP, TRANCE, which was featured in the BET documentary Stay Woke.
EB Rebel had aspirations of a musical career since she was 10 years old, but chose a more practical profession and to become a lawyer. Thanks to the plummeting economy and a burning desire to create, EB Rebel decide to skip law school to become a hip hop artist. The inspiration behind Mama I’m OK was EB Rebel’s thoughts and feelings during her first year after moving from Dallas to NY and the emotions that came with being away from family and following her dreams. Mama I’m OK is meant to bring attention to mental illness and to remind people to take care of that part of themselves.
EB will perform at Queer Abstract on May 18, the night of her EP release.
