Wintercourse, a one-night-only midwinter music festival hosted by Brooklyn’s own Cousin Earth, returns to the Knitting Factory for its 8th year. Local rockers Bushicks begin the festivities which are then rounded out by Funky Dawgz Brass Band, Cousin Earth and Bella’s Bartok.
Initially a music and comedy festival, Wintercourse is the brainchild of Corey J. Feldman, ukulele bassist for Cousin Earth. The show has gravitated towards focusing more on music in recent years and has featured performances by acts such as The Reformed Whores, Space Bacon, Chromatropic, Teddy Midnight, The Matty Carl Project, Mercury Landing, Stevie and The Lion and many others.
“This year’s lineup is fire!” says Corey J.Feldman, ukulele bassist for Cousin Earth. “This is going to be the best Wintercourse yet!”
The concert, presented by NYS Music, takes place Saturday, January 5th at The Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Ave., Brooklyn) Doors are at 7:30pm and the music kicks off at 8pm. The show is 21+ and ID will be required. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 on the day of the show.
Cousin Earth said an emotional goodbye to singer, percussionist and keyboardist Tara Lawton last Thursday at the Mercury Lounge. The band filled the room with high energy jams, to the audiences’ delight. Lawton jumped around on stage as she took in her final performance, while delivering vibrant vocals and funky keyboard riffs. At the end of the set, the band members took turns embracing with Lawton.
Formula 5 followed this memorable performance with a delicious set of flawless jam rock. From the first song, the Capital Region band dove into a groove, and did not stop. Guitarist Joe Davis and Keyboardist Matt Richards were often jamming together, creating electric and cohesive improvisation.
For those familiar with the progressive, ukulele-heavy tunes hailing from Brooklyn’s Cousin Earth, then you may be well acquainted with their fun, quirky sound and pleasing melodies. It’s with heavy hearts that Cousin Earth announces Tara Lawton’s decision to part ways with her role as vocalist and keyboardist with the group she’s flourished with over the last five years.
After months of preparation, Lawton will soon take her final bow with the musical collaboration. The Brooklyn outfit will then welcome Melissa Raye to officially take over vocals, following months of filling in and manning the mic. Celebrating five years of connection, growth and music, Cousin Earth will perform their last gig with Lawton on Thursday, November 29 at Mercury Lounge in NYC with Albany’s own Formula 5.
NYS Music chatted with Tara Lawton, reflecting on her 5-year stint with Cousin Earth.
We’re sad to see you go, but know there’s tons of fun memories to dwell on.
Alyssa Ladzinski: What’s something you wish you could tell yourself 5 years ago at the beginning of this journey?
Tara Lawton: Nada. The journey was and has been exactly what we needed it to be. The amount of growth I’ve experienced personally, musically and emotionally these past 5 years with Cousin Earth is unsurpassed. I wouldn’t change a thing. Every element, every unexpected twist and turn led to the creation of some amazing collaborative musical art and I think our full length album Human Music shows just how eclectic and electric our journey together has been.
AL: Try to sum up your experience with Cousin Earth in 5 words or less.
TL: Crazy-ass music-making life-changing musical expedition. (See how I cheated with the hyphens there…)
AL: How have you changed as a person/musician in this timeframe?
TL: How many pages do you have for this article? No really….! I’ve changed immensely. From learning how to write collaboratively (let me tell you it takes love and patience), to playing keys with a band for the first time (I’ve played piano since I was 7 but never with a band before), to making sure we take care of each other as well as we take care of the music we create together. I have become a much fuller and more musically-rounded version of myself as compared to 5 years ago.
Joey Calfa (ukelele, vox) and I met in Corey J. Feldman’s (U-Bass, vox) project Mercury Landing in May of 2013 and Joe asked me to sing a few duo gigs with him playing ukulele. It’s all a bit blurry now how exactly it took off from there, but the whole of Mercury Landing ended up jumping on-board and shifting into Ukulelien (the band you now know as Cousin Earth). I remember bringing the melodica to the table with this unique idea that I could use it as a rhythm instrument to compliment the uke (who does that?!)…then came the keyboards and it’s all history from there. I cannot express how my musicianship has grown from working with these guys, particularly within the writing and keyboard spaces. I’m eternally grateful for their patience and encouragement as I blossomed into a keyboard player within the band.
AL: We hope to hear more music from you. What’s coming next for your musical future?
TL: Great! Me too! The decision to no longer perform with Cousin Earth wasn’t made lightly. I have been given the opportunity to make a living with a full-time singing job which just didn’t leave time to remain a full-time member of Cousin Earth. The collaboration deserves full commitment and I understand why the decision we reached needed to be made. The new singing job is mostly private events, but I am working on some solo stuff to remain in the music community publicly. I’ve never been the singer/songwriter type, so get ready for some one-woman band kinda stuff with tap shoes, accordions and other insanity. In the meantime, you can catch me making an appearance with David Schnurman, writing and singing on Teddy Midnight’s EPFrench Press (my rapping debut – yes, that is me spitting the rhymes I wrote at the end of the song “Come Over” with the magic of an Ableton Live filter!), playing live original keys and vocal loops for Vinyasa class at Daya Yoga Studio on Monday nights and teaching private voice lessons from my home in Bushwick, Brooklyn. I’m looking forward to further exploring what I can do musically as just one person.
AL: What do you think Melissa will bring to the group next?
TL: I’m not overly familiar with Melissa’s work, but from what I have heard her voice is incredible, soulful and full. I will be most interested to hear what she brings to the writing collaboration process and I wish her the best. She seems to have a soul of golden kindness which I’m sure precedes her onto every stage she lights up.
AL: Which Cousin Earth song has the most meaning to you?
TL: Again, how many pages you got?! Let’s start from the beginning:
“Hey Ya” Cover – This was our first musical collaboration making a YouTube video all together as a ukelele band & it will always hold a special place in my heart. I found that glockenspiel used in the video in the trash outside of our rehearsal space in Bushwick, Brooklyn, NYC and we affectionately named her “Trash Glock.” She currently resides with me in Brooklyn.
“Universoul” -Our first music video! What a time we had making that music video. All of the palpable love shared in that room and the cinematic brilliance brought by Michael Varley and Jessi Highet! I was in the T-Rex suit in the video because our good friend and super-fan Evangeline Rera wasn’t feeling well enough to be in full dino costume. The “viral” T-Wrecks Tap Dancing video came from that day as well. They made me into a meme! Crazy. What a time to be alive!
“Alive” (Track 7 on Human Music) – Writing this song was truly our first full-band collaborative experience. Corey wrote it on ukelele, hence the trading of uke for u-bass live, and brought some lyrics that Joe & I worked with to turn into the song you hear today. I remember work-shopping the song at Corey’s Williamsburg apartment and writing a rough melody that we recorded a scratch track of and sent off to the others. Next rehearsal Joe shows up with a killer bass-line, Nate (always) brings the finesse with that smooth beat and Terry adds stellar interesting, echoing harmonies…bam. Alive.
“Peculiar Patterns” (Track 1 on Human Music) – This song is particularly special to me because of the vocal work and harmonies. I wanted an opportunity to improvise vocally in a similar manner to how Joey improvises on uke and it was provided for me in the middle section of this tune. (Thanks, guys!) Corey came into a rehearsal one night with awesome lyrics and a vocal line over Joey’s beautiful ukulele composition. Terrence Brennan (vox, keys, kazoo) throws on a harmony and I remember having missed that rehearsal because the next time I was in rehearsal I heard for the first time what Terry and Corey were singing and I didn’t even have to think twice about my high harmony part. A harmony that follows the curves of the verses, adds a smooth lyrical element over the dancey B-sections and “falls” down from the top like the rain as the other parts rise slowly from underneath to meet the challenges of that very rainfall. That rehearsal was magic for me and I remember it vividly. There was no thought, the song wrote itself.
While recording “Peculiar Patterns” with Matt Einsidler at Audio Workstations, Inc. where we recorded the album, I was going through honestly probably thee hardest experience of my lifetime and I poured my soul into the singing and recording of this track. It’s actually difficult for me to listen to still to this day, particularly around 4 minutes and 18 seconds when I let out a large vocal wail. I can hear and feel all of the pain I was experiencing…so fresh and so raw at that time in my life and it remains a doorway to that place of intense longing, vulnerability and inability to understand. I can’t help but feel for my younger self as she struggled to accept the circumstances. It’s a story for another time, but this song has my heart in a way that is so very, very special to me and it always will. My boys in Cousin Earth also allowed me to NOT BE AUTO-TUNED on this album (which is unheard of in 2018) and so here I shall use my bragging rights I have reserved. I will forever be grateful to them for allowing just me, my voice to be captured on Human Music.
“Keep On (Show Me the Numbers, Ian)” [Track 9 on Human Music] – My baby. My first tune I’ve written and recorded with a full band. Dope. The weirdest song you will ever hear; I admit I wrote it to be difficult. I wanted a very challenging musical piece and I got it, but in hindsight I definitely would have done some things differently while writing that piece to make the listening experience more fluid. What is life experience if we do not learn from it, eh?
The guys were lovely enough to indulge this crazy idea – a theatrey, jazzy sounding A-section juxtaposed by an off-tempo eerie sounding B-section that I originally wrote as a vocal loop with my Boss Loop Station. Drummer Nate Searing helped to pull this song together by mastering the challenging tempo changes and developing the syncopated hits in the middle section of the song which Corey brought to the table (a true collaboration!). The lyrics are odd, but if you listen closely it tells our Cousin Earth love story. This song is the only sort of love song I would willingly write, and it is for my love of the four amazing men, my brothers that make up Cousin Earth. I am proud and grateful to have this song on Human Music and we will be playing it live for my last show with Cousin Earth at The Mercury Lounge in NYC on Thursday, November 29 (doors at 9pm; show at 9:45pm with Formula 5 of Albany, NY). It’s likely to be the last time the band ever plays the song live. Please join us in celebration!
AL: Do you have a message for the fans?
TL: I’m not going far. If you’ve read this entire article, I promise I love you and I thank you for your support both of my personal career and Cousin Earth. Whether at shows of my fellow musician family, sitting in or performing solo, I’ll see you out there…in the words of Cousin Earth…WAY out there.
The up and coming artists of NYS Music 87/90 have already had an incredible summer and are gearing up for the heat of Festival Season. The artists of 87/90 include the best up and coming bands from across New York State, and they’re coming to a town near you across the Northeast and Midwest this summer. Check out what they have coming up and catch these bands before they blow up!
Formula 5 will host their second annual Rock the Dock Music Festival in Lake George, NY. The Lake George Steamboat Company hosts the event once again, with the three steamboats surrounding the pier to form an amphitheater for fans to enjoy the sounds of Formula 5, Soule Monde (featuring Russ Lawton and Ray Paczkowski from Trey Anastasio Band), Strange Machines and Let’s Be Leonard. The show is only $7 in advance or $10 at the gate. More info can be found here. Most recently, Formula 5 performed at Disc Jam Music Festival, welcoming the Turkuaz Horns for “The Birch Tree” and Rob Compa of Dopapod for a cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Swamp Music.”
Folkfaces will embark on the Fried Chicken Dreams Tour that includes 27 dates in July and August, spanning 14 states and 2 countries. The band will be returning to some familiar venues, as well as making their debut in a plethora of new cities and venues. Folkfaces will be joined along the way with tons of special guests, including General B and the Whiz (Montreal, ON); Swimmer and Kendall Street Company (Burlington, VT); Jared Hamilton (Lexington, KY); The Ithaca Bottom Boys (Ithaca, NY).
Space Carnivalrecently performed at WoodHenge Music Festival and welcomed Ben Carrey from Pigeons Playing Ping Pong sat in for “2001” and Scott Hannay of Mister F/Wild Adriatic joined for “Regal Krad,” Jeremy Kraus of Space Carnival joined Ben for his solo set. At Disc Jam, the Oneonta jammers were joined by Rob Compa on “Regal Krad” and Smash Mouth’s “All Star”
Let’s be Leonard will kick off Rock the Dock Music Festival at 4pm this Friday, and then head to Alexandria Bay to perform at Riverboat Bar on Saturday, July 14. On July 27 they will release their album Static and will hold a film screening of the movie that accompanies that album at the Park Theater in Glens Falls, NY. Then they’ll be at Mile of Music Festival in Appleton, WI from August 2-5 and back home September 1-2 at Adirondack Independence Music Festival in Lake George. Check out their recent video for ‘Most Days’ below.
Cousin Earth will be playing several upcoming festivals and shows in support of their new album Human Music. Notable performances include the Great South Bay Music Festival, Down to Earth Festival, Mazzstock, Meeting of the Minds, and a show with lespecial at the 8×10 in Baltimore. Watch their van cover of “S.O.B.” by Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats.
Intrepid Travelers will be taking some time to finish recording an album they’ve been working on since January, and have announced the second half of their summer tour dates, including:
July 7 – Taste of Music Festival – Buffalo, NY
July 25 – Columbus, OH
July 26 – Holland, MI
July 28 – Canton, OH
August 3 – Jamestown, NY
August 4 – Geneva, NY
August 7 – Buffalo, NY
August 23-25 – Night Lights Music Festival – Sherman, NY
August 26 – Beau Fleuve Music and Arts Festival – Buffalo, NY
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:
Cousin Earth celebrated the release of Human Music on Friday, April 27 at Bowery Electric. Check out photos from the night and read our review of this fantastic album!
The greatly anticipated Human Music from Cousin Earth, is unlike any studio album you’ll listen to this year. Immense talent is found in this Brooklyn five-piece, and share a wide range of influences that all align greatly. The variety of songs throughout the album are each presented without pomp or overshadowing any other. Well produced and executed, Human Music is an exemplar of how to showcase the influences of your music while drawing the listener deep into an album.
“Peculiar Patterns” opens up as the mildly upbeat intro, finding a Goldilocks Zone of not too hard, not too soft – it’s just right, and has a great swell of energy to close. “I Got This” gives off an electric feel and shows fantastic guitar work from Joey Calfa that sends this for a late-80s hair metal loop. “Train Luck” gives the gripes of subway transit in NYC with a Zappa flair and a 70’s era music video to go along with it.
The EDM-inspired “Super Fun Laser Beams” delivers in spades, driven by ukulele wunderkind Joey Calfa and steady beats from drummer Nate Searing and percussionist Terry Brennan. Clocking in at 9:05, you can easily picture the laser beams on the crowd as they get down. Mid-Eastern flair can be found throughout the mesmerizing “Dirty Wet Rock,” some Latin tanginess in “Puerto Rican Pancakes,” and sax-driven funk throughout “Alive,” all of which burst with ukulele driven jams that take command and guide the song.
Do you like kazoo in your music? Cousin Earth has you covered on “When the Dinosaurs come back from Outer Space,” a funky ditty that could crossover to a children’s album with ease. Tara Lawton puts on her Broadway musical shoes for “Keep on (Show me the Numbers, Ian),” but she really shines across the entire album, versatile whether singing, on keys or melodica.
Bassist Corey Feldman charges out of the gate slapping away on the bass for “Capricorn on the Cob,” the final track and an exclamation point on the album. This is the only track that sounds like something from a jamband, with elements of Umphrey’s McGee’s prog-rock, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong’s bouncy, driven rock and flowing jams of moe. The start and finish of Human Music is 100% Cousin Earth and a hearty taste of what you can expect live, where they shine even brighter.
Listen below on Spotify or purchase on Bandcamp and don’t miss the album release show tonight at Bowery Electric with The Phryg and Hunt for Hunter!
Key Tracks: Peculiar Patterns, Super Fun Laser Beams, Capricorn on the Cob
The artists of NYS Music 87/90 are busy this spring and have grown immensely since the launch of the artist publicity and media group. The seven artists of 87/90 include the best up and coming bands from across New York State, and they’re stretching out across the country this summer. Let’s check in and see what they’re up to.
Cousin Earth release Human Music on April 27 with a concert at Bowery Electric along with Hunt for Hunter and The Phryg. We’ll have a review of Human Music next week – get ready for this incredible album!
Formula 5 just wrapped up a 4-show run with Goose, including covering each other’s originals “Trout Waters, Part 1” and “Jive 1” at Pacific Standard Tavern in New Haven on Saturday, April 14. They’ll be at The Waterhole kicking off Party on the Patio this Thursday, perform with Cypher at Flour City Station on April 26 and The Hollow in Albany on April 28 with Space Carnival.
Let’s Be Leonard opened up for The Magic Beans at The Hollow on April 12 and will be back in the Capital District with a headlining show at Putnam Place with Root Shock on May 19. They’ll perform at Sterling Stage Folkfest on Sunday, May 27 with a set of originals plus Dead sets on the side stage.
Folkfaces recently wrapped up a week long tour in the south, and have a summer tour announcement coming soon. They’ll open for Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band on May 3 in Rochester and will be opening for The Felice Brothers at The Waterhole in Saranac Lake on June 15. They are planning for their upcoming album to be recorded at GCR Audio, and released the video for “We’re on the Move Now” featuring Abby the Spoon Lady.
Intrepid Travelers are celebrating their 5 year anniversary early with Cinco en Mayo: 5 nights of IT in May at Nietzsche’s. The Buffalo based band will also hold their renamed Solstice Fest (formerly IT Fest) June 22-23 in Hannibal, NY.
Gowanus will be entering the studio next month to record their second album.
Space Carnival will be opening up for fellow 87/90 artist Formula 5 on Saturday, April 28 at The Hollow in Albany, and were recently added to the lineups for Summer Camp, Disc Jam and Mazzstock music festivals.
Cousin Earth are gearing up for the release of Human Music, the group’s second album, and have released the video for “Train Luck,” a rebuke of the NYC subway system and MTA as a whole. The unique lyric video has a late 70s early music video feel, pulling on influences from Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention and overlapping vocals that create a symphonic sound over the ukulele driven solos.
Bassist Corey Feldman shares his frustrations. “As long-time New Yorkers, we have learned to channel our deep hatred for ‘train traffic’ by playing this song. Joe Calfa crafted this tune, and we all immediately jumped on board as we have all felt the wrath of mass transit.” Given recentfrustrations with the city’s handling of the aging subway system, “Train Luck” channels the mood towards the MTA perfectly.
Cousin Earth’s upcoming album Human Music is due out on April 27 on all platforms and they’ll perform that night at Bowery Electric with The Phyrg and Hunt for Hunter.
Cousin Earth had everybody shaking their shamrocks last Saturday night at Scottish Dave’s Pub in Clinton, Connecticut. With their signature arsenal of whimsical instruments, the Brooklyn-based band took to the stage in full force… and full green!
Drummer Nate Searing set the pace all night with unwavering energy. Corey Feldman plucked his pint-sized Kala U Bass while Joey Calfa served up roaring solos on his electric uke, proving that great things do come in small packages. Tara Lawton and Terry Brennan’s vocals are larger than life, adding catchy and clever lyrics to the band’s memorable melodies. Add to the mix a melodica, slide whistle, vibraslap (a quirky little instrument that brings me straight back to my middle school band days), train whistle, megaphone, and banana shaker, and you have the marvelous musical machine that is Cousin Earth.
Amidst their original songs, the band enjoyed breathing new life into old favorites, starting off with a nostalgic rendition of “Zelda”, then later resurrecting Natalie Portman’s hilariously raunchy SNL rap, and eventually getting the whole bar clapping and bouncing to Nathanial Rateliff’s “S.O.B.”. Even the bagpipers were getting their jig on.
The crowd also had first dibs on the band’s new album, Human Music. It’s not set to release online until next month, however the band had the first physical copies on sale at the show. Be on the lookout for the official release on 4/27, and if you’re in NYC, they are throwing an album release party that night at the Bowery Electric.
The greatly anticipated Human Music from 
Drummer Nate Searing set the pace all night with unwavering energy. Corey Feldman plucked his pint-sized Kala U Bass while Joey Calfa served up roaring solos on his electric uke, proving that great things do come in small packages. Tara Lawton and Terry Brennan’s vocals are larger than life, adding catchy and clever lyrics to the band’s memorable melodies. Add to the mix a melodica, slide whistle, vibraslap (a quirky little instrument that brings me straight back to my middle school band days), train whistle, megaphone, and banana shaker, and you have the marvelous musical machine that is