NYS Music 20​18

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  • Hearing Aide: The Upstart Crows ‘The Upstart Crows’

    The Upstart CrowsMoving out from a small college town music scene into one of the world’s largest and most diverse arts cities is daunting. For The Upstart Crows, fitting in means being different. So, when they moved from a small college town in New Hampshire into the Big Apple, they were able to settle right in. Late in August the band released their first album; a combination of punk, honkey tonk, and a vaudeville styled theatrical influence. The self-titled album, The Upstart Crows, is a grab bag of these various influences that the band draws from. The two piece group, comprised of Jon Adams (vocals/guitar) and Forest DeCoste (drums/bass), recorded at Proper Pop Studios in Brooklyn, NY. The band seized the opportunity to layer on elements that their two-member setup has handcuffed them from doing; the band plays as a guitar and drum duo typically. The addition of bass and some other backing instruments gives every song more dimension and enabled the group to hash out the ideas a bit more. Despite this, the album does feel a little meandering, focusing on the lyrical theme of sadness but not staying true in terms of genre and flow. The album remains an interesting listen despite the scattershot and shows how well the duo can formulate a song with consistently catchy melodies and tight performances.

    The album opens a little heavier with “Bad Medicine”, the first single The Upstart Crows put out in anticipation of the album. The song feels similar to an early 2000’s era emo tune, without the over-saturated production. The bass line fits well with the drum beat and provides a solid foundation for the rich guitar chords to lay out the progressions. The guitar ultimately leads the bass, with both instruments locking together in such a way you’d expect to hear in a song written by a smaller crew of people. The song is fun, heavy, and not overbearing. Adam’s vocals immediately stand out as theatrical and exciting. A few songs follow this formula of heavier instrumentals and grittier vocals. One vocal performance, from “Lying and Crying”, has Adam’s singing with a distortion on his vocals. This works really well with his higher tenor voice, commanding the listener’s attention. The end of this song also has an octave-matched guitar solo that adds some meat and more development to the melody.

    While the heavier songs provide good energy to the album, The Upstart Crows do really well in their more pop-oriented songs. Adam’s vocals shine in track 7, “Heart to California”. A more bubbly song with an indie/alt vibe, the band takes a catchy hook and layers on a lot of fun percussive parts and some group vocal refrains. Similar to a song you’d hear from The Dear Hunter, this offers a view of the band that would be interesting to hear more of. “What Did I Say” gives a similar vibe, keeping the song fresh with catchy hooks and a honkey-tonk feel. Adam’s vocals float above the instrumental like Ben Folds or Tom Chaplin (Keane). The mix gives the song a heavier feel without pumping the distortion of muddying the vocals. Like a few other songs on the album, this one had a seamless transition from the previous track. The band makes portions of the album feel like they were recorded one after the other without break, which yields a cool effect.

    From the heavy distorted wash of instruments, to a more jangly and organic songs, this album does not get boring. While the rocky flow and genre mixing can be a drawback at points, the ability to write consistently catchy hooks and execute performances that are tight make this album fun to listen to. The Upstart Crows cover a wide spectrum of genres in this album, and it’d be interesting to hear an album (or two) that focus on a steadier narrative and true genre. With this first release, the band has started to establish a theatrical alt-rock sound that can be refined to great effect. Check out the album, and if you’re in the NYC area don’t hesitate to catch a live set! You’ll get something a little different than the album, and that’s a great reason to catch a live set.

    Key Tracks: Heart to California, What Did I Say, Bad Medicine

    https://soundcloud.com/user-362945912/bad-medicine

  • Shemekia Copeland To Sing National Anthem at Sunday’s Giants Game

    shemekia copeland national anthemOn Sunday, September 30, Grammy-nominated singer Shemekia Copeland will perform the National Anthem on game between the New York Giants and the New Orleans Saints. The game begins at 4:25pm at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey and can be watched on CBS.

    Copeland is currently on tour, bringing music from her critically acclaimed, powerful new album, America’s Child to fans all across the country. NPR Music says Copeland is “head-turning and outspoken. America’s Child is a true hybrid of simmering, real-talking spirit and emphatic, folkie-and soul-style statement-making. Copeland sings slow-burning soul and rollicking country-blues with growling vigor and potent conviction.”

    Produced by Americana Instrumentalist Of The Year winner Will Kimbrough (who also plays guitar on the album) and recorded in Nashville, America’s Child is a courageous and fiery statement of purpose, a major step forward for the singer whose musical consciousness continues to expand as her star continues to rise. With guests including John Prine, Rhiannon Giddens, Mary Gauthier, Emmylou Harris, Steve Cropper, J.D. Wilkes, Al Perkins and members of the Time Jumpers, America’s Child bursts with Copeland’s bravado and embraces with her tenderness.

    Tune in this Sunday to see Shemekia Copeland perform the National Anthem.

    Upcoming shows in New York:

    Sept 30, 2018 – Met Life Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
    Nov 15, 2018 Tralf Music Hall Buffalo, NY
    Nov 16, 2018 Center for the Arts of Homer Homer, NY
    Nov 17, 2018 Towne Crier Cafe Beacon, NY

  • Hearing Aide: The Lionfish ‘You Won’t Keep Me Down’

    Fairfield University bred rockers, The Lionfish, sting. Their second studio release, You Won’t Keep Me Down, is as colorful as the marine fish itself. It’s packed stout with driving rock, intimate blues-ballads and sounds that delineate genres. The Lionfish cannot be defined, nor contained. You Won’t Keep Me Down sounds more like a greatest-hits rock party than anything else.

    the lionfish

    The Lionfish will be debuting You Won’t Keep Me Down Friday September 28 at Peaches Southern Pub & Juke Joint from 9:30 pm to 12:30 pm. The beauty and purity of the record will be preserved, performed in its entirety, amidst a non-stop three-hour set.

    “Our origins are not based on a pop single,” said frontman, Robby Schwartz. “We are all raised and influenced on the idea of an album as a whole.”

    The album’s title track “You Won’t Keep Me Down” is a full-fledged swamp tune. Heavy drums hold the band steady, as screaming guitar licks respond to Schwartz’s vocal chants. Each instrument speaks; arpeggiated keys, guitar and bass all crash into the bridge. Their energy is sharp and venom-like. Your feet won’t have a choice. Go ahead and try.

    “The album speaks to a voice in favor of loving your neighbor, instead of building walls. ‘You Won’t Keep Me Down’ was one of the first songs written. It is anthemic in its own way,” said Schwartz.

    “Dogs of Quito” is a more poetic take on rock n’ roll. Schwartz had been writing most of the songs while in Ecuador, volunteer teaching, as “a release from the normal working world.” Inspired by authentic Quito graffiti,  the tune has a recurring theme of Without Love Nothing. The desolate streets can be heard in Schwartz’s distinct ‘howls’ throughout the driving chorus.

    The dogs of Quito are howling / In a fight like there’s no tomorrow / The rest of the world is watching / In a trance of pain and sorrow.

    The Lionfish get intimate with “She Lifts Me Up.” The track is jazzy and soulful, opening with finger-snaps and backed by powerful female harmonies. Schwartz’s keys take off. The dynamic change reveals the subtle articulation of each instrument. “She Lifts Me Up” was also featured as  a NPR fan favorite, submitted as a Tiny Desk entry.

    Acoustic guitar sets the mood for “The Last Town,” with a southern air that makes the listener sway with the breeze. “The first five tunes are my favorite,” said Schwartz. “There were times on the record when I was writing from an outsider perspective.” However, “Some of the tracks date as far back as high school.”

    Other tracks stand out, such as “The Wall,” which features Schwartz on solo piano. “Love (Sin Amor, Nada),” becomes otherworldly, with clave ostinatos and a variety of percussion. “Untitled Blues,” concludes the twelve-track record, with a nine minute anthem of nonstop soul.

    “I think this show at Peaches will be a great opportunity for us to show off how proud we are. We are playing the album in its entirety, along with a bunch of covers. It will be interesting to play it live as a four-piece,” featuring core band members Chris Finelli (guitar), Mark Schwartz (bass/guitar/vocals), Robby Schwartz (keys/bass/trombone/vocals) and DJ Horstmann (drums).

    Key Tracks: You Won’t Keep Me Down, Dogs of Quito, Untitled Blues.

  • Coffee and Conversation: Learning about Yaddo Gardens

    Locals got to learn more about the Yaddo Gardens, an artist community in Saratoga Springs, and its historical origins during the Friday, Sept. 14, installment of the Coffee and Conversation series at the Bethlehem Public Library.

    Lesley LeDuc, a docent and a member of the Board of Directors at Yaddo, spoke about how it is a recognized place where artists, filmmakers, poets, musicians and writers can apply to stay for a period of time to escape their everyday surroundings and work on their crafts. Its renowned resident artist program is divided into five categories: Literature, Visual Art, Music Composition, Performance, and Film & Video.

    This “artist colony” is located just off exit 14 on Interstate 87. While the area is accessible to the public, the property remains privately owned.

    LeDuc introduced the prominent Trask family, the patriarch of whom was financier and philanthropist Spencer Trask (1844-1909) a graduate of Princeton University who founded his own law firm. He and his wife, Katrina (1853-1922) a fellow philanthropist and author, had several children, all of whom died prematurely.

    Together, they bought this 400-acre estate back in 1881 and moved into the currently-standing house in 1893, after the original burned down in 1891. It became an artist colony around 1926, according to LeDuc.

    “There’s 55 rooms in this 45,000-square foot estate, 20 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms and I think if I remember correctly, there’s 16 fireplaces,” LeDuc said, chuckling. “When we do public tours of the area, someone always asks me about the number of fireplaces.”

    Tours of the Yaddo Gardens are offered every summer and fall. The estate, which serves as the site for “25 to 35 weddings every year,” according to LeDuc, is also notably populated with multicolored gardens, fountains, marble and a pergola.

    In addition to presenting numerous historical photographs of the family, the estate and its gardens, LeDuc also displayed postcards that featured the estate in the early 20th century. She also shared about how the property’s overall aesthetic features, including its statues and fountains, began to deteriorate over the years, particularly during the 1970s and 1980s, and how there has been an effort to restore them ever since.

    “We clean the marble statues with toothbrushes once or sometimes twice every year,” she explained. “They’re all marble so they’re very porous and we have to be very careful.”

    The pergola, the so-called dominant feature of the gardens, consists of 38 ionic columns and is about the length of a football field. It is a popular location for weddings at the estate.

    The pergola also had to be restored as it was made out of terra cotta which deteriorates “from the inside out … and the columns were all taken down.” While some columns were still capable of being reused after restoration, others had to be replaced completely.

    “We were all afraid of when the columns were taken down,” she said. “And the restoration cost almost $500,000. But eventually, they were all put up again and they just look like they came back, looking better than ever.”

    An audience member later asked how the name “Yaddo” came about. LeDuc said that while there have been at least six untrue “fanciful” versions of where the name came originated from, it actually came from Christina, the Trasks’ young daughter who once mispronounced the word “shadow.”

    Each week, the Coffee and Conversation series features a visiting speaker who comes to discuss either their professional or personal expertise about a work of art or a local landmark for about an hour. The series, co-sponsored by Bethlehem Senior Projects, Inc., takes place at the Bethlehem Public Library weekly on Friday afternoons beginning at 1 p.m.

    The next Coffee and Conversations event will take place on Friday, Sept. 21. For more information about this week’s visit here.

    This article was originally published by The Spot 518. is property of Spotlight Newspapers in Albany, N.Y., and appears as a special to NYS Music. TheSpot518 and NYS Music work in partnership to provide readers with in-depth coverage on the local music scene in the Capital District and New York state, respectively. For more, visit TheSpot518.com.

  • Hearing Aide: Turkuaz ‘Life In The City’

    Brooklyn’s own, Turkuaz, has released their fifth full-length studio album Life In The City. With a soundscape more vibrant than a rainbow, each track is crowded with intensity and expressionism. Life In The City paints the aura of a mundane, overstimulated world and bespatters the canvas with electro-funk graffiti. It’s infectious, luring ghost-walkers in from the darkest alleys. Once the nine-piece powerhouse entraps your mind, life as you know it, will cease to exist.

    Turkuaz Life In The City

    The title track, “Life In The City,” sets the stride with heavy isolated synths and layered upbeat guitar.  The pulse is familiar, like walking. Weighted four-on-the-floor kick drum echoes the mass of worn shoes, marching without question. Every step brings a new impetus. The overtones and decay of the drums juxtapose reality as they ring out through a suspended chorus. Choir-esque harmonies, punchy horn lines and random hi-hat splashes seem chaotic, but become increasingly cohesive

    “Life In The City  portrays a dark and dystopian future, or current city environment, full of over stimulus,” said guitar/vocalist Dave Brandwein. “It gets harder and harder to appreciate life. Blind in the spotlight and caught up in the hustle and bustle of the city. We want it to feel that way in our songs.”

    Collectively the album is a constant echo of life. From a willingness to try and “just letting it come out”, themes arose, like the reoccurring ‘city noises’ throughout the record. “Make You Famous” is full of funky-energy, bells and ambient percussion. Freeform keyboard leads squawk, reminiscent of Hancock’s Head Hunters. “The Question” becomes more airy and soulful, with predominant female vocals, but as it fades away, synth taunts us with a motif from the title track.

    Life In The City is the most elaborate Turkuaz collaboration to date, according to Brandwein. “If I Ever Fall Asleep,” was co-written with Baritone Saxophonist, Josh Schwartz, with driving energy. The record was co-produced by Jason ‘Jacko’ Randall of More Sound Studios in Syracuse, Rob O’Block of Nashville and Dave Brandwein in the band’s “home-base,” Galaxy Smith Studios in Brooklyn. Moreover, Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads produced “If I Ever Fall Asleep” at The Bunker Studios. “It definitely doesn’t hurt when an inspiration of the band, like Jerry, is on your side,” Brandwein confessed.

    In comparison to the daunting 24-track Digitonium, this release was boiled down to nine tracks. “All of those nine songs, I stand strongly behind,” said Brandwein. “ We actually recorded 20 songs. We will be trickling out material little by little, which is exciting.” Turkuaz will debut the new record on a upstate New York run in early October at The Westcott Theater in Syracuse, Town Ballroom in Buffalo and Putnam Den in Saratoga with Butcher Brown. The band is excited to make their first appearance at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester with Cory Henry & the Funk Apostles on October 19.  

    “We’re drawing from an eclectic pool of music,” said Brandwein. For newcomers, check out Turkuaz’s latest in-studio video. “I think that song combines a lot of things into one. You can see our energy. It’s got the full package.”

    Key Tracks: Life In The City, Make You Famous, Lady Lovely

  • Get Up and Dance to Redbeard Samurai’s ‘Turn It Up’ Video

    Redbeard Samurai has just released a new music video that’s going to make you want to get your groove on. The video for his catchy number “Turn It Up” features dancers from a variety of different styles, from hip hop to swing. This fits with the song’s overriding message: “It doesn’t matter how you cut loose, it matters that you cut loose.”

    “Turn It Up” is the first single from from Redbeard Samurai’s upcoming debut hip-hop album Second. The project is the brain-child of versatile musician Blake Pattengale, a recent graduate of Eastman School of Music. With school behind him, Redbeard Samurai is finally ready to launch the music they’ve been writing and recording for the past few years.

    Photo: Dave Jones Empire West Photography

    The video for “Turn It Up” was directed by Josiahx, and features some members of the band and their friends. (Vanishing Sun fans will recognize a cameo by singer Zahyia.) The dancers don everything from traditional dance costumes to a panda suit. It was filmed at Arbor Loft in downtown Rochester, which fit the cleaned-up post-industrial vibe Pattengale was looking to achieve.

    As a concept album, ‘Second’ includes both songs and skits to tell a tale. Pettengale describes it as “an underdog story in which Redbeard Samurai works to liberate the people of Highstrung Falls from the shackles of propriety, conformity and mostly from the autocratic Chancellor who rules Highstrung Falls.” ‘Second’ is being mixed and mastered by Matt Ramerman of The Green Room. The release date will be announced soon. The album visuals were designed by Mexican artists Raul Urias and Moises Cordova.

    To stay current on upcoming events and album news, visit the website or follow Redbeard Samurai on Facebook and Instagram.

  • USPS remembers Beatles legend John Lennon with new stamp

    Preceding the ceremony to unveil the new John Lennon stamp, his late-Beatles wife expressed gratitude for the throngs of fans who gathered at the Naumburg Bandshel in New York City’s Central Park for the event.

    “Even if it was five or ten people, I would have appreciated it,” said Ono, with their son Sean at her side. “But, look at this. This is beautiful.”

    Instead, hundreds of fans gathered to pay tribute to a complex man who first stirred teenage girls into a frenzy and later helped lend a voice to a rebellious generation against war. John has been dead for nearly as long as he was alive, assassinated outside of his home in December 1980, at the age of 40. Earlier this month, the U.S. Postal Service honored the singer and songwriter with a stamp.

    John Lennon Stamp

    “It’s a privilege to commemorate the life of John Lennon – one of the most celebrated musicians and iconic personalities of the 20th century,” said Postmaster General and CEO Megan J. Brennan. “The world was influenced by John Lennon’s music and his commitment to the ideals of peace and unity. We continue to be inspired by his memory.”

    John joins Elvis Presley, Ray Charles and Sarah Vaughan as artists immortalized by the USPS in its Music Icons stamp series. The commemorative stamp features a photo taken by noted rock ’n’ roll photographer Bob Gruen in August 1974. It shows the musician on the rooftop of his Manhattan apartment taken for the 1974 album Walls and Bridges. The original black-and-white image was treated in gradations of color to create the artwork for the stamp, which is now available for purchase.

    John Lennon Stamp

    Gordon Thompson has yet to purchase the stamp. The Skidmore College professor is considered the local expert on all things Beatles. He is the music department chair for Skidmore. He said he remembers the Ed Sullivan broadcast that introduced his generation to the Mersey Sound. Thompson is a ethnomusicologist, or one who studies the relationship between music and culture. He’s taught classes on how The Beatles influenced culture from the 1960s to today. Though he is a fan of John and the Fab Four, he said he does not collect memorabilia.

    “Unless books and recordings are memorabilia,” said Thompson, “in which case I’m guilty.”

    Ono’s perplexing admission that she was concerned few people would attend the day’s ceremony contrasts against her late husband’s iconic status. He was, of course, a founding member of the Beatles. The Beatles still hold records for a string of hits released from 1962 to 1970, including “All You Need is Love,” which later served as an anthem for John’s humanitarian endeavors. John also was a successful solo artist. His last of seven studio albums, “Double Fantasy,” was released three weeks before he was killed. It includes “Beautiful Boy,” a lullaby to his son, Sean.

    Julian Lennon, John’s son from his first marriage, did not attend the ceremony. Since his father’s death, he has been candid with details describing a dismissive and abusive father. In a 1998 interview with The Telegraph, Julian called his father a “hypocrite.” As the world recalled hearing him sing “give peace a chance,” Julian recalled how that same voice could easily “tear someone up.” Julian had a distant relationship with his father, both geographically and emotionally. He didn’t know him as the doting father Sean did.

    “I think [John] Lennon offered us an example of our best and worst impulses,” said Thompson. “He was no saint, but neither was he evil; and we watched as he wrestled with his impulses on a very public stage.”

    Thompson referenced a line from The Beatles’ 1967 hit “Getting Better.”

    “I used to be cruel to my woman, I beat her and kept her apart from the things that she loved.”

    It was an innoxious statement fans seldom thought to analyze when it was released on “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonley Hearts Club Band.” John, however, would later admit to Playboy magazine, quoting from his own song, that he was an abuser.

    “I was a hitter,” John told Playboy. “I couldn’t express myself and I hit. I fought men and I hit women. That is why I am always on about peace.” He added that he did not curb his volatile behavior until he met Ono. Soon afterwards, the world would see Lennon as an advocate for peace, a champion for women’s rights and a critical voice against organized religion.

    “He questioned the role of religion in society and the righteousness of those who present themselves as religious,” said Thompson. “He recognized the hypocrisy inherent in religious practice and spoke out about it. And for that, he was assassinated. His killer had harbored resentment over the comments about the relative popularity of Jesus and brought these with him to New York.”

    John Lennon was shot dead on Dec. 8, 1980, in the archway of the Dakota Apartments by Mark David Chapman. He was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987 and twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: as a member of the Beatles in 1988 and as a solo artist in 1994.

    Julian was left out of his father’s will. Though a trust was established to benefit all of John’s children, Julian sued to obtain his share of his father’s estate. Julian told The Telegraph that he continues to reach out to his brother, Sean, but that the relationship is distant.

    The USPS designed the John Lennon stamp pane to resemble a vintage 45-rpm record sleeve. One side of the pane includes the stamps and brief text about John Lennon’s legacy. A black-and-white photograph of him seated at his white piano appears on the reverse.

    “Not to be too cliched, but I think Lennon’s death symbolized for us the official passing of an era,” said Thompson. The Beatles expert was absorbed in the music and culture of India when Lennon was killed. The young ethnomusicologists had “moved on.”

    “Lennon and the Beatles had shaped a major part of our lives, he said, “but we, and they, had moved on. We had abandoned a phase in life when we had ignored the consequences for our actions. We had become adults. John Lennon had once been Peter Pan, lured into the world of mortals. Now, we recognized that we had lost something special.”

    This article was originally published by The Spot 518. is property of Spotlight Newspapers in Albany, N.Y., and appears as a special to NYS Music. TheSpot518 and NYS Music work in partnership to provide readers with in-depth coverage on the local music scene in the Capital District and New York state, respectively. For more, visit TheSpot518.com.

  • Hearing Aide: Roan Yellowthorn ‘Indigo’

    The color indigo is unique in pigment, featuring hues of inspiration across the color spectrum, while staying true to a rather dark disposition. Such is the feeling of the album released by indie pop songwriting pair Roan Yellowthorn, titled Indigo in its own right. You may recognize the last name of the band’s lyricist and lead singer, Jackie McLean, from her father, the great songwriter Don McLean. Following slowly in his footsteps, McLean and production partner Shawn Strack release their debut album with no outside assistance, honing in on their personal vulnerability and growth as songwriters.

    Roan Yellowthorn Indigo

    Supporting McLean’s buzzing vocal lines are a variety of instruments, including soothing piano lines, cranked guitar chords, and interesting choices of auxiliary percussion. The title track of the album is a clear example of this, switching from a soft section to a more abrasive rock interlude, with words of inner crisis to round it out. The duo also released a pulsing preview to the album with the single release of “Talk About It” earlier in August, with a unique video to go along with it. While this song may lead you to believe this album is dance-oriented, it surely isn’t. There are energetic surprises, but the album is about reflection, so the somber tone is an overarching theme of the album.

    The soft guitar strumming of “How Are You” to combat the forceful piano chords creates an inner conflict, a true testament to the band’s ‘indigo’. Arguably the best song on the 10-track album, entitled “Mark My Words”, is slightly out of place from the rest of the album, and ultimately sounds like a sweet serenade of inner despair. Being only about a minute and a half in length, McLean’s voice is filtered with some kind of EQ, giving off the sound of a voice through an old radio, to match the abrasive chords and feedback that resonate behind her.

    All in all, this first crack at audio production for Stack is above adequate, only to improve with the genres of music they tap into in future albums. As this group develops their style, the lyrics will follow, a musical choice that contrasts them at this moment. The group has a series of vignettes to inspire their lyrical creativity, and with some more work to strengthen the backbone of their sound, Roan Yellowthorn is sure to become a beloved duo in the indie pop sphere.

    Don’t forget to follow Roan Yellowthorn on her journey via her website and Facebook page. They’ll also be playing a show at the Bitter End in NYC on October 20th in celebration of their new release, Indigo.

    Key Tracks: Talk About It, Mark My Words

  • Hearing Aide: Groovestick ‘Mosaic’

    Mosaic carves out a unique jazz-funk sound in the vein of Head Hunters while injecting subtle pop melodies, making the album as accessible as it is complex. Original member Dan Gerken (guitar/bass/vocals) has assembled a power house of a group with Chris Carballeira on keyboard/vocals and Dave Berger on drums. A fun mixture of richly dynamic songs gives Groovestick a few staple releases, as well as 10 tracks of dance-able tunes drawing influences from funk pioneers all over the board.

    Right from the start, any funky human can tell that the album is going to be a pleasure to listen to. “Balloons” sets the scene with a laid back groove with a great hook and a theme of soulful guitar solos and organ majesty is conveyed immediately. Groovestick takes a handful of sticky riffs a step further than offering a single hook and elaborates on that by casting out a collection of ear worms within each song. They tastefully add in elements of prog rock by developing and layering on new ideas and hooks for the listener to latch on to. It is vital to be able to keep the song interesting to the audience in this style and genre, and Groovestick shows they definitely learned how to engage people with a song by playing live and getting that feedback. The key here for the band is that they were able to transfer the atmosphere of a live show onto an album. They do really well to keep the songs fun, and are able to showcase their jam-ability; no doubt a product of their intensive work on stage and in numerous musical projects.

    The second and sixth tracks (“Mischief”, “Nola”) show the band foremost instrumentally, as they’re able to keep the vibe of the opening track going without needing any words. Groovestick takes a wordless tune and still emotes the feeling of each piece through their skillful improvising. There are a few instrumental tracks on the album overall, with one standout being “Crablegs.” Gerken’s bass lines match seamlessly with Carballeria’s left-hand work on the organ to great effect. One major point on the album that stands out is the way these two are able to sync so well together to hold a groove. Berger is able to lay out quick yet spacious drum beats to hold the groove down, giving each song a flash of jazzed taste. There is a lot of play with dynamic range as well, namely in “Scrumptious” where the band seamlessly breaks the song down to almost nothing before coming back into set the mood for the next song, “Inkblot.”

    A highlight track on Mosaic is definitely “Inkblot.” It’s possible to write an entire review on this one song with how many dimensions the band is able to mesh together. From jazz, to funk, to even ska (!), this song covers so many bases while still being….a song! The band is able to navigate the line between these genres and fuse them together. As a whole, the album has a similar feeling to this song in that the transitions between each song gives the album a nice instrumental and dynamic arc. Switching between vocalized and instrumental pieces while maintaining a consistent theme and feel added a lot to the listening experience and gave a nod to the deep knowledge the band possesses in their musical experience.

    All of the performances are very tight, with everything from rumbling and climbing bass solos, to ripping guitar leads and magnificently executed key-lines, with the drums never faltering in the groove foundation. This was a very fun listen! Definitely check out Groovestick’s release and go out to see them live if they come to town. It’s going to be interesting to hear some of these songs live with how much they make me want to dance in my seat.

    Album release party is 9/29 at Parish Public House!

    Key Tracks: Inkblot, Crablegs, Mischief

  • Arleigh Kincheloe of Sister Sparrow Discusses New Album and New York Tour Dates

    In the middle of her move out of Brooklyn, Arleigh Kincheloe of Sister Sparrow carved out some time to speak with us about her upcoming album and the end of her tour as she hits a few more spots in NY.

    Kincheloe and the Brooklyn-based Dirty Birds got their start in this borough in 2008 and have made quite the name for themselves, performing in almost all of the 50 states and over 10 separate festivals. Their latest work has evolved into something unique compared to their three studio albums. Kincheloe speaks about the reason for the change, the source of her inspiration, as well as a few words of reassurance about the albums development and sonic success.

    Sparrow and the Birds will fly through The Egg on November 10 and Irving Plaza on December 1 – two venues that Kincheloe has deep connections to.

    Dave Ostroff: There’s something different about this album. What would you say is setting this one apart from your previous work?

    Arleigh Kincheloe: This one is a different for me because this is more of a solo project. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time and I never really had the time to do it. I had a baby and all of a sudden we had to stop touring for a while and I focused on this record and started writing some of the songs while I was pregnant … then when my son was two months old I started going into the studio and working on it. One of the reasons I wanted to do this was we made a lot of records as a band and most of those records were created in a live style – we’d go in and together and try to capture our live side. What I really wanted to do for the first time was let the production side (take control) and kind of explore things I’ve always wanted to try in the studio that I never had because we were trying to go for that live band sound. It was really fun for me. I was trying to be creative in a new way and I was writing with a lot of different people and was really just stretching my legs a little bit. And also I was trying to figure out how to be a new mom. It was a crazy time in my life and I think this record was made all out of love (along with) a lot of exciting stuff happening in my life.

    DO: There’s definitely tons of experimentation in there and it’s very successful experimentation. What kind of musical inspiration have you channeled into this album?

    AK: I always wanted to try too marry modern sounds, hip hops elements, soul and funk stuff that I love. I sometimes still listen to the track and say, ‘I can’t believe it came out like this!’ I have a whole Spotify playlist that was my soundscape for this. The Staples, Aretha Franklin, The Pointer Sisters, Bill Withers, Paul Simon, Joe Cocker – a very ’70s vibe. But I tried to add the modern techniques and drum sounds. The person I worked with in the studio, his name is Carter, we really got each other. I met him because of a song songwriting session where we created “Gold”. After working with him that one day, he got a exactly what I‘m going for. I verbalized exactly what I was picturing and I said, ‘ build me this world!’ and five minutes later he completely created that world. I wanted to make the rest of the album with him because I thought he just nailed it. So that’s where it’s all coming from. It was such a fun experience and it was just the two of us a lot of the time.

    DO: I’ve done some digging and found some initial reactions to the single “Ghost” and your fans loved it. But some are saying they think it’s too poppy and they don’t like the change in style. What would you like to say to some of those people to reassure them this album has a lot more to offer than this one track?

    AK: I want express as an artist that we have to evolve. If we stay the same, then we’re going backwards. We have to try new things and not everyone will like it all the time, but that’s why it’s art and music is subjective and that’s why we’re all entitled to our own opinions. I would definitely like to say wait and listen to the whole album to get a bigger picture because “Ghost” is definitely one of the more poppy songs on the album. I hope people stick around and check the rest of it out. It definitely has a little bit of everything on there. Some of the tracks lean closer to the Dirty Birds sounds and some lean farther away.

    DO: When is the release date?

    AK: It’s October 12th. It’s going to be everywhere that day. You preorder it on iTunes, you get two of the songs now. We’ll be pressing vinyl which is very exciting. The vinyl will have a couple different versions of the songs that we have – Ghost will be different on that vinyl.

    DO: Moving on to the tour and the shows – you’ve found a full time keys player, Nat Osborn. What’s his story? What does he bring to the table?

    AK: We brought him on to be the keyboard player when we did a cover show of Aretha Franklin’s Live at the at Fillmore West album. We did that at the Brooklyn Bowl and we obviously needed a piano player because that album has her playing the organ. We all got along so well – he’s actually an old friend of a couple of the guys in the band and I personally got along really well with him. It’s been adding a lot of freedom in other ways. Whereas my brother on harp, a lot of time he was holding down the organ sounds through his pedalboard and his harmonica, so he now has the freedom to mess around with a different things. My brother is also playing lap steel (guitar) now so we’re bringing a lot of dynamic sounds to the mix which is a lot of fun for us. That is helping bring in the new album songs to life. It’s been really fun and I’m really excited for the rest of the fall.

    DO: You have three NY shows coming up, out of those, do you have a favorite?

    AK: New York is a hometown. I was born in Albany and raised in the Catskill Mountains so Albany is a hometown show in that my dad will be there, my friends from high school will probably come up and see that one. Aand then here in Brooklyn, this is where the band started and where I’ve been for the past decade so those two are both going to be really special.

    DO: I wanted to close out with this – to those who haven’t seen a Sister Sparrow show, what would you say to that are on the fence about seeing you guys live?

    AK: If you’ve never seen us before, we’re all just having a good time. For me, the whole point of this is to have a good time, to spread that feeling of joy and dancing – that’s a very important part of it for me and I hope people also feel the same way. It’s just a good time. We’re a little bit loud, a little bit rock, a little bit emotional as hell. We’re trying to bring everything together, spread a little love, spread a little joy – I know it sounds so cheesy but it’s true! That’s my mission and if I could have a good time up there, hopefully it’s contagious. When the crowd is having a good time then we’re having a good time and visa versa.

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