NYS Music 20​18

Category: Western NY

  • Interview: Young Culture Takes New Release ‘Blue’ On The Road

    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.

    Young Culture
    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.

    Young Culture
    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.”

    Young Culture
    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.

  • Cold Lazarus Warms Up Western New York

    Jamestown, NY only holds a population of just over 30,000.  Yet, the small town, just a few miles from the Pennsylvania border, is most notably home to Lucille Ball and the 10, 000 Maniacs. The Jamestown music scene is on the rise, as Cold Lazarus, one of Western New York’s premier up and coming bands, has been catching eyes and ears with their unique brand of progressive/jam fusion.  As the winter weather begins to warm up this weekend, Cold Lazarus is hitting the road to showcase their first full length release, the self-titled studio album Cold Lazarus.

    Cold Lazarus will kick off the weekend on Friday in Westfield with a free show at the Tap Room.  You can also catch the band as they open in support of Rochester-based Haewa in Jamestown on Saturday at Mojo’s. Buffalo music fans can catch the band on Sunday as they open in support of Mungion at Buffalo Iron Works.

    The four- piece melds funk, psychedelic rock, reggae and soul with indie-style vocals and introspective lyrics. And it’s a formula that has quickly launched Cold Lazarus into the Western New York music scene.

    Cold Lazarus bassist Gavin Paterniti told NYS Music that the band’s musical formula comes from a place of being a musician’s band. “Our influences are quite varied, but we never set out to sound like any one artist or band that we enjoy listening to,” Paterniti noted. “We sort of pull from all those influences and combine them into an amalgam of funk, reggae, rock and jam-centric songs.”

    Cold Lazarus strikes a delicate balance between musicianship and entertainment. “We like to give our listeners and audience members something they can groove to while simultaneously challenging us as we play it, so we incorporate some progressive themes but try to keep it accessible, so we don’t lose our audience who are feeling the groove.”

    Celebrating the release of their first studio release, Cold Lazarus is also expanding their reach as artists in 2018.  The band will be debuting in Rochester this March with Buffalo’s Space Junk.  And they also landed a Buffalo support date with Aqueous side project Boss Tweed and the Carpetbaggers. Paterniti explains that although headlining dates is important for building a reputation, the support dates allow Cold Lazarus to gain new fans.

    “Right now, we’re still putting a big premium on exposure,” he said. “In comparison to many of these more established bands, we’re still kind of in our infancy stage, despite the fact that we’ve got about 2 albums’ worth of material and we’ve already managed to secure some very coveted festival spots in under a year and a half. We just want to get some recognition out there and for more people to hear us.”

    And while the exposure to new fans is the goal, Paterniti also sees the value in playing with some of the scene’s favorite touring artists. “It’s always great to be able to make contacts with some of these other bands who are blowing up the scene,” he explained, “You never know when those kinds of connections might be able to benefit you again down the road.”

    The band has already enjoyed an appearance at last summer’s Night Lights Music Festival and landed slots at this summer’s Gathering at Chaffee’s in Erie and The Great Blue Heron Music Festival. And while the band is staying tight-lipped about the rest of their summer plans, Paterniti noted that you’ll probably be seeing more of the Cold Lazarus name throughout the summer. “This summer is shaping up to be a great one for us, and I think it’s going to do wonders for us as a band moving forward,” he surmised. “We’ll also be making a couple of other area festival appearances, but those lineups have yet to be announced. We’re very excited about how things are progressing for our summer performance schedule.”

    Cold Lazarus hits various venues around Western New York throughout the spring.  Catch them at one of their upcoming Western New York shows. Also, check out the band’s album Cold Lazarus, available on Spotify, iTunes, Bandcamp and other major streaming services.

    Cold Lazarus

    2/23 – Westfield, NY – The Tap Room

    2/24 – Jamestown, NY – Mojo’s#

    2/25 – Buffalo, NY – Buffalo Iron Works*

    3/9 – Erie, PA – Kings Rook Club $

    3/10 – Buffalo, NY – Nietzsche’s %

    5/19 – Rochester, NY – Funk n Waffles

    7/28 – Gathering at Chaffee’s

    #- support for Haewa

    *- support for Mungion

    % – support for Boss Tweed and the Carpetbaggers

    $ – support for Space Junk

  • Nietzsche’s Fourth Annual Herbie Hancock Tribute Celebration

    This Thursday, Nietzsche’s will present its fourth annual Herbie Hancock Tribute Night, a tradition that honors the diverse catalog of one of America’s most prolific composers. Featuring a collection of some of Buffalo’s best musicians, the show runs from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., with performances by The Alex McArthur/Jon Lehning Sextet and The TRUTH Travelers, a group comprised of members from both THE TRUTH and Intrepid Travelers. Both bands will be playing two sets, alternating between the front bar area and the main stage.herbie hancock tribute

    The Alex McArthur/Jon Lehning Sextet is Alex McArthur on vocals, Jon Leaning on saxophones, Harry Graser on piano/keyboards, Adam Bronstein on guitar, Anthony Henry on bass, and Ryan Cavan on Drums, while The TRUTH Travelers boast Ellen Pieroni on saxophones/flute, Donny Frauenhofer on piano/keyboards, Brian Calisto and Adam Bronstein on guitars, Sam Pavolich on bass, and Jon Fohl and Ryan Campbell on drums and percussion.

    Herbie Hancock Tribute Night is $5 at the door and all guests must be 21 and older unless accompanied by a parent.

  • O What a Night! Moho Collective & Overhand Sam (& AnamOn & PenthOrse) at Funk n Waffles Music Hall

    The Friday after Valentine’s Day at Funk n Waffles Music Hall homemade hearts hung from the ceiling and decorated the stage. It was a night built for the love of the local music scene. The Moho Collective set the stage and Overhand Sam would close it down, but not before inviting a bunch of friends to help with the celebrating.

    With a name like The Moho Collective, you might believe this band would bring a stageful of members. But as just a trio, the “collective” in their name might better describe their influence-rich sound. The trio, Kurt Johnson on guitar and pedal steel, Justin Rister on bass, and Ryan Barclay on drums and percussion, “collect” musical styles from across the globe, combining them in new and mystifying ways. Their hour-long set travelled to Australia, with Barclay laying down a low drone on the didgeridoo on “Bamal,” Mexico/Latin America with the fiery Satana-esque guitar shredder “Wenindee,” the Far East with the pedal steel plinking groove of “Chikyu Hakken,” before finishing up in Canada with their stirring instrumental rendition of Neil Young’s “Cowgirl in the Sand.”

    Through it all they explored heavy rock, soulful funk, jazzy blues and tripped-out effects-laden spaciness. If you like music that shakes your hips, pumps your fist and makes your head spin, The Moho Collective is for you. They’re promising two new albums this year and probably already have more shows on the calendar than they played in all of 2017 so there should be ample opportunity to enjoy their worldly and otherworldly grooves this year.

    Johnson’s guitar mate from Maybird, Sam Snyder, aka Overhand Sam, is even more enigmatic to first-time listeners. As is implied in the name, he plays guitar “overhand.” It looks odd at first and is met with many quizzical looks from first timers. Playing for friends, family and longtime fans, there weren’t any surprised faces Friday night. Snyder lends his hand to many bands in the Rochester area, gives lessons and records/produces local music. He used his set as a bit of a showcase for some of these projects.

    Backed by bassist Benton Sillick and drummer Aaron Mika from Anamon, Snyder ran through tracks off his 2017 release Longer Legs. Songs ran the gamut from melodic punk to new wave to twang rock, with the trio format giving Snyder’s unique guitar stylings plenty of room to shine.

    Midway through their set, Anamon front-woman Ana Emily Monaco was invited up to play a pair of new songs she’s been recording with Snyder’s help, who also plays in her band. Johnson joined on the pedal steel to lend a rich backwash of country twang to her lilting mid-tempo rock.

    Next, Snyder invited his guitar student Matt Treadwell and drummer Joe Parker to premier a couple songs of their own, in a project tentatively named Penthorse. In a bit of a 180 from Anamon, these songs had a spastic herky-jerky energy, afro-beat inflected sound and near-spoken word vocals.

    The set finished up back with the original trio playing more from Longer Legs, with a lively cover of the Kinks’ “Everbody’s Gonna Be Happy” thrown in for good measure. Yet more friends helped close out the night, with the McCarthy brothers from new-to-town August West joining on vocals, and Johnson back up to play some Omnichord. The band laid down yet another premier, ripping through the infectiously catchy “Lalalazy” to close out what was a lovely night showcasing the talent of Rochester.

  • The Ballroom Thieves Spend Valentine’s Day in Rochester

    Valentine’s Day. The perfect occasion to spend an intimate evening alone with your loved one, or as was the case Wednesday night in Rochester, the perfect occasion to spend an evening with a few hundred live music lovers for an intimate show with The Ballroom Thieves. It was apparently an easy choice for many, as the show at the Arbor Loft, a beautiful event space above Hart’s Grocers in the East End, was sold out in advance.

    The trio from Boston, returned for their third Rochester show, and first in over two years. They played two near-hour long sets, both with their own unique overlying flavor. Guitarist Martin Earley strapped on his electric guitars throughout the opening set, while Calin Peters picked up her electric bass for a good portion. In the second set, Earley went almost entirely acoustic, while Peters spent the majority on her cello. The energy ramped up throughout the first half, up until a blood-pumping fervor in the set-closing “Wolf.” The second set was more subdued on the whole, eventually winding all the way down to a show-closing encore performance of Paul Simon’s “American Tune,” completely unmiked.

    Electric, acoustic, no matter. This trio is greater than the sum of it’s parts. Their unique mix of instruments and variety of playing styles kept their sound fresh and invigorating throughout the two-hour show. Devin Mauch is more percussionist than drummer. He serves as not only the beat-keeper, but a third melodic instrument. Utilizing multiple mallets, wire brushes, and traditional sticks, he coaxed a smorgasbord of sound from his minimalist kit, which included an unusual hand-powered bass drum. Peters’ could hold down the low end with the bass during unexpectedly rocking moments, pluck out a more gentle bass on the cello, play foil to Earley’s leads or carry the load with lush bowed flourishes. Earley’s guitar sounds ran the gamut; electric, acoustic, finger style, flat picked.

    The band had a full toolkit, but also knew when and where to use it. There might be no drums, no cello, or just Earley solo; almost every song had a unique mix. Their gorgeous three-part harmonies were nearly ubiquitous though. And with good reason, it’s what elevates this trio to the next level and makes The Ballroom Thieves sound like The Ballroom Thieves. Even a cover of The Heartless Bastards’ “Low Low Low” turned into a song of their own (Earley jokingly wanted to claim that it was), as Mauch sang with just a hint of Erika Wennerstrom’s distinct vocal delivery.

    Nothing fills the heart quite like an intimate evening of genuine and earnest music, even if the messages conveyed weren’t always all that romantic. As they wrapped up the evening with the aforementioned bare bones “American Tune,” there wasn’t a person in attendance who didn’t believe that The Ballroom Thieves was the right choice for Valentine’s Day, love songs or no.

    Setlist
    Set 1: Peregrine, For Mercy, Lantern, Pocket of Gold, Oars to the Sea, Here I Stand, Trouble, Saint Monica, Do Something, Wolf
    Set 2: Blood Run Red, Wild Woman, Coward’s Son, Bury Me Smiling, Archers, Bees, Only Lonely, Low Low Low (Heartless Bastards), Sea Legs, Anybody Else
    Encore: American Tune (Paul Simon)

  • Interview: I Set My Friends On Fire

    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.

  • Consider the Source Announce Coast-to-Coast Spring Tour

    Consider the Source has announced a Spring Tour, spanning the entire country coast to coast over 31 shows across March, April and May.  The first two shows of the tour find the trio opening for Pink Talking Fish at The Capitol Theatre on Feb. 10, and supporting funk/soul legends Soulive at Ardmore Music Hall on March 2. The next night the band then heads into Brooklyn to perform at House of Yes with You Bred Raptors? before taking a few weeks off prior to a cross country tour.

    consider the source coastConsider the Source were recently guests on Adult Swim’s Fishcenter Live. If you missed the episode, stream it here.

    Feb. 10 – The Capitol Theatre – Port Chester, NY*
    March 2 – Ardmore Music Hall – Ardmore, PA#
    March 3 – House of Yes – Brooklyn, NY%
    March 30 – Chameleon Club – Lancaster, PA%
    April 4 – Buffalo Iron Works – Buffalo, NY
    April 5 – Woodlands Tavern – Columbus, OH
    April 6 – Reggies Music Joint – Chicago, IL
    April 7 – Source Public House – Menasha, WI
    April 8 – The Frequency – Madson, WI
    April 12 – The Black Sheep – Colorado Springs, CO
    April 13 – Lost Lake – Denver, CO
    April 14 – The Fox Theatre – Boulder, CO@
    April 18 – Filling Station – Bozeman, MT
    April 19 – Red Room Lounge – Spokane, WA
    April 20 – High Dive – Seattle, WA
    April 21 – Analog Cafe – Portland, OR
    April 22 – HiFi Music Hall – Eugene, OR
    April 25 – The Dip – Redding, CA
    April 26 – Humboldt Brews – Arcata, CA
    April 27 – Alibi Ale Works – Truckee, CA
    April 28 – Bottom of the Hill – San Francisco, CA
    May 2 – Mohawk – Austin, TX
    May 3 – Gas Monkey – Dallas, TX
    May 4 – The Abbey Underground – Denton, TX
    May 5 – The Shrine – Tulsa, OK
    May 9 – Zydeco – Birmingham, AL
    May 10 – High Rock Outfitters – Lexington, NC
    May 11 – Bright Box – Winchester, VA
    May 18 – King’s Rook Club – Erie, PA
    May 19 – Hookahville – Bellefontaine, OH
    May 26 – StrangeCreek Campout – Greenfield, MA

    *w/ Pink Talking Fish
    #w/ Soulive
    %w/ You Bred Raptors?
    @w/ The Jauntee & Sixty Minute Men

  • Kyle Hollingsworth Band Bringing New Jams to Funk ‘N Waffles

    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.”

    The keyboardist for String Cheese Incident brings his solo project to New York for a show on Friday in Rochester and another in Syracuse on Saturday, both at Funk ‘N Waffles.

    “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.

    STRING CHEESE INCIDENT

    Hollingsworth said String Cheese Incident is in the studio working on a new album.

    “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.”

    FRIDAY, FEB. 9

    WHAT: Kyle Hollingsworth Band; Sophistafunk opener

    WHERE: Funk ‘N Waffles 204 N. Water St., Rochester, NY

    WHEN: Doors 8 p.m.; Show 9 p.m.

    TICKETS: www.funknwaffles.com

    SATURDAY, FEB. 10

    WHAT: Kyle Hollingsworth Band; Sophistafunk opener

    WHERE: Funk ‘N Waffles 307 Clinton St., Syracuse, NY

    WHEN: Doors 8 p.m.; Show 9 p.m.

    TICKETS: www.funknwaffles.com

    Kyle Hollingsworth Band’s new album “50”

    1. Onset
    2. Wyatt Earp’s Tale
    3. Let me in
    4. All Falls Apart
    5. Finding Our Way
    6. Prime
    7. Stuff
    8. Tumbling
    9. Come On
    10. So Fine
    11. Take the Ride
    12. Offset

  • David Wax Museum Offered an Alternative to the State of the Union at Good Luck

    For Honest Folk’s first show of 2018, and their 10th show ever, they brought David Wax Museum, who themselves are celebrating their 10th year as a band. As they’ve made their way around the country, carting along their two kids, eating their kale and kimchi salads in parks or Wendy’s/Gas Station hybrids, they’ve made friendships at show stops along the way, with years separating meaningful contacts. On their drive to Rochester, with the cold and snow blustering in, they wondered if it was such a good idea to visit in January. But they remembered, people need the sense of community and warmth an intimate concert would bring, now more than ever. Right they were.

    On a different stage. in a different place, the President was celebrating his first year in office with his State of the Union. David Wax and his wife Suz Slezak, traveling as just a duo for this tour, presented their audience with a different vision of reality. While one was promising walls and deportations, this couple were breaking down barriers and blending cultures. Inspired by an early introduction to Buena Vista Social Club and collaborations with a musically-gifted Paraguayan exchange student, Wax travelled to Mexico where he learned their music and absorbed their culture. He developed a unique sound blending traditional Mexican and American folk music.

    Wax and Slezak blended the sounds of guitar, ukulele, fiddle, accordion with traditional Mexican percussion by way of a donkey’s jawbone and a tarima, a small wooden stage to stomp on. The diversity of the instrumentation provided plenty of different flavors throughout the show. On the gentle and moving “Wondrous Love,” Slezak plucked out an echoey melody on her fiddle reminiscent of Andrew Bird. They sang into a single mic on “Turn This Love Around,” which built up, finishing with a gorgeous mesh of guitar, fiddle, vocals and stomping.

    In the studio, the band would warm up by playing traditional Mexican folk songs. They shared a couple of them during the evening, including “El Toro Zacamandu,” a song Wax first heard in an ice cream parlor in Missouri of all places. They plan to record another album this year, and also introduced a pair of the new songs that will probably make it, “Line of Light” and “Be Patient.” With those as a sampling, it appears the future of their union continues to be bright.

    In a Democracy, citizens are offered the opportunity to participate in the process. The same was true during this concert. During “Yes, Maria, Yes,”  the audience was split into two sides down the middle. One side stood and sang, “Yes, Maria, Yes,” while the other stood and sang, “No, Maria, No” in quick succession, up and down and back and forth like a good congressional debate. In a more immersive bit of participation, the crowd was asked to close their eyes during “Every Time Katie” to experience a ‘concert in the blind’. Wax and Slezak walked through the room, playing guitar and bells, providing an intimate surround-sound moment of calm and beauty. A rare feat in this day and age.

    Why did the band drive to Rochester in the dead of winter? Because they trusted in the integrity and vitality of the Honest Folk music series, of which they were happy to be a part. A full house of attentive music lovers certainly made it worth their while. And they promised to be back, hoping to bring their full band back to Monty’s Krown, the first place they ever played in town way back when.

    As with all Honest Folk shows, there were also tangible answers to the state of our union. On the environmental front, Impact Earth was on hand to help make it a zero-waste event. And 10% of the concert’s proceeds were donated to The Center for Youth, whose Executive Director, Elaine Spaull, spoke about the center’s mission to provide a safe space for LGBTQ youth.

    Setlist:
    Set 1: Singing to Me, Don’t Lose Heart, El Ahualulco, Line of Light, Wondrous Love, Harder Before It Get’s Easier, At Least I Tried, Yes Maria Yes

    Set 2: The Least I Can Do, ?, Turn This Love Around, Be Patient, El Toro Zacamandu, Every Time Katie, Unfruitful, Guesthouse

  • With a revamped lineup, Ponder set for big things in Buffalo

    Ponder, a three piece Indie band that started out at SUNY Geneseo, will perform on Saturday, February 3 at Nietzsche’s in Buffalo with The Good Neighbors and Max Muscato & Outer Harbor. This is the first show for Ponder since changing their name (from Ponder the Giraffe) and restructuring their lineup.

    ponder buffaloAfter winning a battle of the bands in 2015,  Ponder the Giraffe  earned the opportunity to open for New Politics in April 2016.  When the band graduated in May 2017, Gabriel Birkby (guitar, vocals), Andy Hogan (bass, vocals) and Aaron Murphy (drums) relocated to Buffalo to continue writing, recording, and performing.

    While the freedom of college allowed the band to focus almost solely on music, the band came to an understanding that perhaps it was time to move on from the college mentality, and entertained the notion that a re-structuring and re-vamping of the current sound and platform could be advantageous to pursuit of a life of music. Thus, “Ponder” was born. While the band has lost its giraffe, with Aaron Murphy seeking to pursue higher education and moving on as a full-time member, Gabe and Andy plan to soldier on.

    The trio performed at Rochester Fringe, with four sets over the last two years at Java’s Cafe, a cozy and eclectic coffee house tucked away on Gibbs Street off of East Avenue, right in the heart of Fringe. Ponder also performed alongside Buffalo’s Aqueous, as well as Jimkata and Space Carnival. The group recorded a four track EP, From The Porch to The Curb and a full length studio album (recorded at Quiet Country Audio), These Words, both of which are available on Spotify and iTunes.

    Ponder will be bringing new sounds, instrumentation, and members to the group, including a new (and yet to be officially determined) drummer to the mix, along with friend Paul Sottnik from Buffalo’s “The Everythingness,” on keys. More featured sit-ins from local musicians are planned for shows in the future, and ponder will always be looking for more musicians to share the stage with. Big things are on the way for the newly re-formed Ponder, with show and festival announcements soon to follow.

    On Sunday, February 11 at Mohawk Place in Buffalo, Ponder will open up for the eclectic rockers from North Carolina, BIG Something.