Along the banks of the Hudson River, new music is flourishing. New York towns like Beacon, Kingston and Woodstock are emerging as musical meccas. Last weekend, Nyack joined this burgeoning trend when it served as the location for Manic Kat Records’ 5th anniversary festival. This two-day event, held at Olive’s, served as an opportunity for Manic Kat to showcase their stable of artists. With a mantra of “Real Punk. Real Attitude,” the music ran the gamut from Metal to Ska, Pop Punk to Rock and Roll.
Cult Classic
The spectrum of talent possessed by the label was on full display over the two days. Local favorites Cult Classic and Philly’s A Likely Story joined Bay Area pop punkers Neverlyn and Central California’s For the Record as part of a 15-act smorgasbord of music. Keeping things running smoothly, Suicide Girl, Paijee Suicide, presided as host of the festival lending her charm to the merriment.
Neverlyn
Rockland County-based, location hasn’t limited Manic Kat’s reach when searching for talent to fit their brand. Having acts now hitting Billboard Magazine’s Hard Rock Album Sales and Heatseekers Album charts, be looking for bigger and better things to come from this Pomona, NY label as their roster grows. The tide on the Hudson may ebb and flow, but one constant is that Manic Kat Records is Real Punk, Real Attitude and Real Music.
Like a great sandwich of leftovers from Turkey Day, the Vermont-based band Twiddle served up two nights of their homegrown musical jam at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY. Dubbed “Frendsgiving” by the band, the weekend show is now becoming an annual event, this being the third time around.
Twiddle
With the theme of “Frendsgiving,” a portion of each night’s door sales was donated to the non-profit organization White Light Foundation. The foundation, run completely by volunteers, assists various charitable organizations and community causes. WLF describes itself as “founded on the principles of community, love, generosity, and passion” and is inspired by the music of Twiddle.
Aqueous
I caught the second night of this two-night run which had Aqueous, who played both nights, opening the show. They kicked out a blistering 45-minute set, including a cover of Vampire Weekends “Sunshine,” stoking the house’s appetite for the main course. Twiddle took the stage to cheers from the crowd, serving up two sets of nonstop music to the delight of all. The second set opened up with “Latin Tang” which had Mike Gantzer and David Loss of Aqueous joining the band and taking the show to the next level .
Mike Gantzer and David Loss of Aqueous w/Twiddle
With this being the beginning of the holiday season, the band gifted the audience with two new songs: “Mistakes,” which closed out the first set, and “Just Gravy” which was featured in the latter part of the second. “Lost in the Cold,” from Plump, took it home as the encore for the night. To make the evening complete, before the band left the stage they had the entire house join them for one big “family” picture to cap off the holiday weekend.
Aqueous Set List
On The Edge, Kitty Chaser (Explosions), Come and Go, The Median, Sunflower, Skyway
Twiddle Set List
Set I Orlando’s, Jamflowman, Gatsby the Great, Hattigan Mcrat, Orlando’s, BeeHop, Carter Candlestick, Mistakes
Set IILatin Tang, The Box, Zelda Theme, The Box, Syncopated Healing, Machine FRENDS Theme, Just Gravy, Gatsby the Great (Ending)
With musical seeds from Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music, where founding members Chris Pandolfi and Andy Hall attended and met, planted in the fertile soil of Nashville, TN, the The Infamous Stringdusters (Andy Falco [guitar], Chris Pandolfi [banjo], Andy Hall [dobro], Jeremy Garrett [fiddle], and Travis Book [double bass]) have cultivated a sound yielding a self-described fusion of All-American bluegrass and rock.
Formed in 2007 and experiencing some early lineup changes, the band is now past the decade mark and getting stronger by the year. I spoke with the Andy Falco (a Long Island, NY native) before seeing them at a scheduled stop at the Wall Street Theater in Norwalk, CT, part of the band’s 2019 fall mid-Atlantic/ Southeast tour.
Andy Falco
Mickey Deneher: What has enabled the band to continue as a creative unit for over 10 years?
Andy Falco: Everybody has a lot of respect for each other, personally and musically. I trust my band mates’ instincts and that trust is reciprocated. One thing I have heard a lot about us from engineers and people we have worked with is, “Wow you guys really are a democracy.” Normally bands say, “We’re a democracy,” but it’s always one or two guys that are really making all the decisions. If I have an idea that I swear is the best idea for something and somebody else in the band is like, “I don’t know. I think this way would be better.” I trust that. It’s how we operate on any decisions, musical or otherwise. Having that trust for each other allows us go forward. There are no egos or any of that bullsh*t. It’s all about trying to make the best music. You need to trust your boys.
Chris Pandolfi
The band has been rewarded for their creative efforts by capturing three International Bluegrass Music Association awards in 2007 (Emerging Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for Fork in the Road (in a tie with J.D. Crowe & The New South’s album Lefty’s Old Guitar, and Song of the Year for the album’s title cut). They were also awarded a 2011 International Bluegrass Music Association nomination (Instrumental Group of the Year), a 2011 Grammy nomination (Best Country Instrumental Performance), and a Grammy win for Laws Of Gravity as Best Bluegrass Album in 2018.
MD: What were you guys feeling when you won your Grammy for Laws of Gravity?
AF: I will describe to you the scene. We were sitting there in the row and the category comes up. You could feel the seats in our row just shaking because everyone’s leg was bouncing up and down. We’re nervously waiting and when you get the announcement and it’s like, “Holy Sh*t.” It’s a shock. It’s an amazing thing, an amazing experience. It’s a special thing.
There are no egos or any of that bullsh*t. It’s all about trying to make the best music. You need to trust your boys.
Andy Falco
I don’t know if there are other bands in our corner of
bluegrass, the jammier side of bluegrass that have been recognized in that way.
For us, we felt like it was for all of the bands in our corner. Hopefully more
bands, our peers in our world, will also be nominated and be winning Grammys.
Jeremy Garrett, Andy Hall, Chris Pandolfi
Of course, the next day you’re already on to thinking about the music, because that’s the most important thing. You don’t do this to win awards. But to be recognized, it’s an honor. You have that trophy, as my daughter calls it “the singing trophy.” I have it on the piano and every now and again if you are feeling that self-doubting, you can look up at that and get that feeling of being recognized. We are blessed that we had that opportunity.
MD: It’s a confirmation to you that the decision was right and the trip was worth it.
AF: A great way to describe it.
Not sitting on their laurels, in 2019 the band put out its 9th studio album Rise Sun. This project looked to interject components of their live show into the creative recording process.
MD: Was there pressure going in to record Rise Sun after winning a Grammy?
AF: I can speak for myself, that in my mind I didn’t feel pressure. I felt like I just wanted to make a record that reflected our art as accurately as Laws of Gravity did. If we made what we felt was a good record and was what we wanted to say, then that would be a success to me.
In the end I felt even better about the record we made.
That’s normal. As you evolve as an artist, as a band you’re making different
records. You should feel like your latest record is your best.
Rise Sun reflects us now. What we are now. Go back to Things that Fly or another record and that reflected us then. As long as you are feeling good about the art that you are making, and the music your making, and feel like it’s reflecting and it’s honest music, then that is a success to me. No matter what awards or anything.
Andy Hall
I hope people like it. You can’t chase that. That’s not
really going to get you your best art. You have to chase from within and
hopefully be able to have the album reflect that.
MD: Share the approach to the album.
AF: The idea was to approach the record as a studio album, but the experience be closely related to the way a live show would run down. In a live show, one of the things we really developed over the last few years is the idea of having these transitions in between songs where it is just a completely unknown improvised section of music. We know where we are coming from, we know where we are going to, but don’t necessarily know what’s going to happen in the middle. By developing that in our shows, it was something we (then) wanted to bring into the studio as well.
MD: The shift was of a technical nature also.
AF: This record was done differently. In the pre-production, we decided on which 13 songs we were going to actually record and, not only that, we decided exactly what the order they would appear on the record was. So before we went to the studio, we knew the order of the songs, the sequence, even where the breaks would be for the vinyl (a double album). So we decided to record it in that order.
We record everything live in the studio and we overdub little extra bits. The foundation of the track is cut live. You could feel that energy. The first cut on the album “Rise Sun” has this energized, fresh in the morning kind of feel to it. In contrast, the last song “Truth and Love” has this weariness in a way. That was at the end of these long sessions. You could feel energy that ebb and flow as the record goes, just as you would on a live set.
With a vow to producing quality recordings, the band’s live show raises that commitment exponentially. The floor seats at the Wall Street Theater had been removed to allow a free and open space for the night, which was maximized by a joyous house. With the first set acting as a primer, the crowd exploded into dance, hands in the air, and singing from the first note of the second set until the night was over. A light show bathed those enraptured in the music as the band took everyone along on their improvisational jams and one of a kind segueing in and out of songs. It may have been a cold November Sunday night outside, but there was a barn-burning going on inside with The Infamous Stringdusters.
NYC based singer songwriter Anthony D’Amato released the first single, “Wrong Shade of Blue,” from his upcoming EP, Five Songs From New Orleans, out on Velvet Elk Records.
Captured almost entirely in the living room of an historic 1860’s Garden District home, Five Songs From New Orleans feeds off the Crescent City’s irrepressible creative energy and draws inspiration both from its stately beauty and its haunted decay.
D’Amato engineered, produced, and mixed the whole EP himself, treating the songs as raw, unfiltered snapshots of his time in town, and the performances documented here are loose and improvisatory to match. The end result is a spare and organic collection, one that’s comprised exclusively of acoustic instruments and draws on an eclectic array of New Orleans sounds, from Cajun fiddle to blues guitar, from Dixieland clarinet to washboard shuffle, from classic country to fingerpicked folk.
“This whole experience really caught me by surprise,” said D’Amato, a New Jersey native who now calls New York City home. “I came to New Orleans for a housesitting gig in between tours, and I ended up writing and recording a whole new collection with a whole new band and a whole new sound.”
While each of the songs on the EP grew out of D’Amato’s
experiences in New Orleans, some tracks are more explicit in their lyrical
portraits than others. D’Amato spins an Ash Wednesday hangover into a metaphor
for post-honeymoon love on the playful “Party’s Over,” imagines life after
death in one of the city’s largest cemeteries on the bluesy “Metairie,” and
uses New Orleans as a lens through which to examine the widening economic,
racial, and political divides that have come to define modern America on the
twangy “Some Folks.”
I came to New Orleans for a housesitting gig in between tours, and I ended up writing and recording a whole new collection with a whole new band and a whole new sound.
Anthony D’Amato
Those who pre-order the EP ahead of its November 15th release on D’Amato’s web site, will get access to bonus materials (signed CDs, vintage New Orleans postcards, handwritten lyrics, t-shirts, fine art prints).
Anthony will be celebrating the EP’s release at Rockwood Music Hall in New York City on November 13th. He will be joined that night by very special guest John Gallagher Jr. (TONY Award winner ‘Spring Awakening’, HBO’s ‘The Newsroom’), Tickets can be purchased in advance of the show.
The Music of Cream, the pedigree of the hallowed ’60s trio Cream: Kofi Baker (Ginger Baker’s son), Malcolm Bruce (Jack Bruce’s son) and Will Johns(Eric Clapton’s nephew), have announced an exciting new tour for 2020. Honoring the legendary band’s landmark album, the 40-date North American tour will feature Disraeli Gears performed in its entirety followed by a set of additional hits and rarities from Cream, Clapton, Blind Faith and more. The upcoming tour finds The Music of Cream continuing their celebration of the extraordinary music and legacy their family members created more than 50 years ago via their extensive live show and personal stories and footage of their fathers and mentors.
Will Johns, Kofi Baker, Malcolm Bruce
Kicking off February 28th in Victoria, BC, Canada, the Disraeli Gears Tour will travel all across North America stopping everywhere from Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Phoenix, Boulder, Baton RougeandFort Lauderdale toBirmingham, Atlanta, Annapolis, Long Island, Boston, Toronto, Chicago, Milwaukee, Omahaand all that’s in between, before wrapping May 3rdinAustin. See below for the full list of tour dates. Tickets are on sale starting this Friday, October 18 at 10 a.m. local time; visit www.musicofcream.com for ticketing information.
With primal riffs, soaring operatic choruses, poetry, fashion and theater rolled into one, Disraeli Gearsdefined the era in which it was written. The super-group’s second studio album, released in November of 1967, is often considered Cream’s crowning achievement. Disraeli Gears, featuring the singles “Sunshine of Your Love” and “Strange Brew,” was their American breakthrough reaching #4 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart before ultimately becoming a platinum-seller in the U.S. The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 and Rolling Stone included Disraeli Gears in their list of the Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time saying, “Cream’s sharpest, most linear album focused its instrumental explorations into colorful pop songs.” In addition to critical acclaim over the decades, the original band members themselves praised their work on Disraeli Gears. Ginger Baker noted, “You can’t escape the fact we were having such fun playing with each other,” while Jack Bruce said, “This was a whole new beginning for the band and I loved that time very much,” and Eric Clapton added, “We had found ourselves…it was a pivotal point in the history of popular music.”
Malcolm Bruce
For the members of The Music of Cream, who first launched their celebratory 50th Anniversary World Tour in 2017 and have since performed over 100 shows together worldwide, including a string of recent sold-out UK shows, honoring Disraeli Gears and the storied history their family members created on this new tour was an easy choice.
“To follow our 50th Anniversary Tour, it was a no-brainer to go out and celebrate Disraeli Gears in its entirety,” shares Kofi Baker (drums). “There are songs that are quite different, they wanted to challenge everything! And from a personal point of view, it gives me the opportunity to perform another song my dad wrote called ‘Blue Condition’ that I really like. I also loved the artwork for the album; my sister and I used to laugh because we said you could see up my dad’s nose. Happy memories that we can bring to the stage.”
Kofi Baker
“Why Disraeli Gears? Well, that’s easy for me,” says Will Johns (guitar, vocals). “It was the birth of the wah-wah pedal and you gotta love the wah-wah! That we can interpret such groundbreaking music and continue to tell Cream’s story is as exciting for us as we know it was for the band when they recorded it all those years ago. Like my uncle, I am a blues man through and through, and on this record there’s some fantastic interpretations of this genre, the likes of ‘Lawdy Mama’ and ‘Outside Woman Blues,’ so it doesn’t get better than that!”
“There are many reasons I love the idea of performing Cream’s second album Disraeli Gears,” adds Malcolm Bruce (bass, vocals). “Many of Cream’s best-known songs are on the record including ‘Sunshine of Your Love,’ ‘Strange Brew’ and ‘SWLABR.’ But importantly to me, perhaps my favorite Cream song, and I think my Dad’s too, ‘We’re Going Wrong’ is on there as well. It has always been such a special song to perform, so open in its possibilities for improvisation, and lyrically, the song works on a number of levels, both personal and universal. I also love some of the less well-known songs on the album like ‘World of Pain’ and ‘Dance the Night Away.’ It even contains comedy elements in ‘Mother’s Lament.’ Overall, it is a very cohesive set to perform. We are looking forward to it!”
Will Johns
During its heartbreakingly short lifespan, Cream was an explosive musical cocktail that provided the super-group blueprint for others to follow. Their third album, Wheels of Fire (1968), was the world’s first platinum-selling double album, and collectively Cream sold more than 15 million copies of their albums worldwide. Not surprisingly, Rolling Stone ranked the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group (inducted in 1993) as 67th in their 100 Greatest Artists of All Time list. The trio originally said farewell on a 1968 U.S. tour, and apart from a brief reunion in 2005 at London’s Royal Albert Hall and New York’s Madison Square Garden, Cream retained an almost mythological status in the music world, right up until the passing of Jack Bruce in 2014. This, for many fans, marked the end of an era and an acceptance that there would never really be another opportunity to celebrate the group’s legacy. That is, until The Music of Cream emerged. And with the recent passing of Ginger Baker, the new trio (Kofi, Malcolm, Will) look forward to sharing more of their stories as well as Cream’s incomparable music with fans new and old to keep Cream’s legacy alive.
For more information on The Music of Cream, visit:
Lonely Dakota is a UK based southern rock band. What? A UK based southern rock band. If baffled by this identification, the band’s debut EP End of Days will remove any confusion to who they are.
Recorded in April 2019 at Ranch Production House in Southampton, England, End of Days opens with “Victoria,” a bare bones rock anthem. Hearing lead singer Luke ‘VonDee’ Varndell’s raw vocals and Craig ‘The Machine’ Sepala’s authoritative drumming, you’ll find yourself pumping your fist in the air and letting out a YEAH as the song builds. The title track (and first single) “End of Days” follows. The song solidifies the band’s rock status with its hard-hitting drive, highlighted by Paul ‘PJ’ Jackson’s potent guitar work.
Track three is “Medication,” a slight shift melodically from the first two songs but kept to the bands creative dimension. Rounding out the collection are “Overdrive” and “15 Years,” songs that maintain the musical landscape established by the opening numbers.
“End of Day” cover art
So let’s review:UK, southern rock; UK, southern rock. Got it? Doesn’t matter. Just remember that Lonely Dakota’sEnd of Day will rock you, no matter where you are from.
Blacktop Mojo will be bringing their Can’t Sleep 2019 Tour to The Chance in Poughkeepsie, NY on Wednesday, August 7. Athens, Gerogia’s hard-rock grunge band, Lullwater, will be providing support.
Blacktop Mojo is touring in support of their upcoming record, Under the Sun, which comes out this September. The album follows, Burn the Ships which featured the singles “Where the Wind Blows” and their cover of Aerosmith’s “Dream On.” Under the Sun is available now for preorder at all download platforms. Anyone preordering Under the Sun will receive the first single “Can’t Sleep” as an instant gratuity track.
Lullwater is touring with their critically acclaimed new album Voodoo, which is available now.
As previously announced, Blacktop Mojo will be doing extensive touring throughout 2019 and 2020 in support of the record. Tickets for the first leg of touring are currently on sale and can be .
The 2019 Pleasantville Music Festival is now in the books. This was my first time at the festival, held 30+ miles north of NYC, which was celebrating its 15th year. Before heading to the festival I found out a few things about Pleasantville, N.Y. It is a village in a town, it’s first train station was built circa 1846, and has roughly 7,000 people living there, per the 2010 census. I started to think, village, 1846, music festival? I was, well, concerned.
But I was schooled- schooled quickly. With past headliners including Gin Blossoms, Blues Traveler, The Smithereens, and Ian Hunter; the quality of music spoke for itself. The organizers maximized the large enclosed multi-use sports field enabling three musical stages, an abundance of food and drink vendors, large kids play section, tented shade areas and enough space for all to enjoy the day without being on top of one another.
Recycle station volunteers
As part of the festival and “to keep the Earth happy” they instituted a zero waste program including manned recycling stations and volunteers who continually roamed the site, picking up any trash that may have made it to terra firma. I was taken by how well they kept the festival site clean. Water stations offering free fill ups were available for all, whether you bought something to drink or brought a refillable bottle with you.
Then there was music. Three stages offered different musical grooves from local to national acts. The Chill Tent, a very large covered area with a multitude of large fans circulating air throughout, offered acoustic styled acts including Dean Freidman and Chill headliner Matthew Sweet, who filled the tent to capacity. The Party stage, a decibel or two louder than the Chill Tent, true to its name was a party for all. Bands playing this stage were definitely adding heat to an already hot day. Two acts on this stage that caught my attention were Micky James and the band The New Respects, both had everyone on their feet and wanting more.
Matthew Sweet in the Chill Tent
The main stage was just that with BAILEN, Aimee Mann, Soul Asylum, and headliners Everclear playing to a field full of fans, singing and dancing to their hits. The bands were interacting with the crowd making the main stage feel like the most intimate of places.
The day’s musical extravaganza started with the three winners of the Lagond MusicBattle of the Bands competition. The winners, Mosa, SpitPhyre, and Lillimure, set the tone for each stage they performed on. It was great seeing support for new and developing musical talent. Eighteen acts played this hot, blue sky day. The coordination of the two smaller stages with the main stage allowed you to experience all the acts and not feel you missed out on something going from one stage to the other.
With my knowledge of Pleasantville, N.Y. social studies enhanced and having had consumed a plethora of great music, all I have to do now is wait for year 16 to get on the calendar.
Soul AsylumThe New RespectsDean FriedmanSwahoogieReady for some rock ‘n rollMatthew SweetMosaAlex Cano Aimee MannBruce T CarrollBAILENE’lissa JonesField entertainmentColor Tongue LillimureMicky JamesTough competitionMeltSpitPhyre
During my formative years, I would look to my father for insight, knowledge and direction, trying to absorb as much as humanly possible. When I caught Devon Allman (son of Gregg Allman) and Duane Betts (son of Dickey Betts) fronting the newly formed Allman Betts Band at the Wall Street Theater in Norwalk, Connecticut, I surmised that these sons of rock, had absorbed much too.
Already with established musical careers, the coalescing of their talents began in December 2017 at an event organized by Devon, honoring the music and memory of his late father. In 2018, Betts started opening for The Devon Allman project and joining Devon on stage for a few Allman tunes as part of the show. Realizing that something viable was in their midst, the two started writing together and the seeds of the Allman Betts Band were sown. Later that year, with songs penned, the pair headed to the famed Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. Their efforts resulted in the band’s debut album, Down to the River. Then, on March 27, 2019, fifty years and one day from the first time the Allman Brothers Band played together in Jacksonville Florida, the Allman Betts Band kicked off their inaugural tour at New York’s Brooklyn Bowl.
Devon Allman, Duane Betts
Walking in the intimate Wall Street Theatre, you felt the buzz, in anticipation of hearing this new band. JD Simo, (who sat in with the Allman Betts band for a song) opened the show. This three piece from Nashville cranked out a powerful set of rock and blues tunes, priming the pump for what was to come. Devon, Duane and band (Berry Duane Oakley – bass, vocals; Johnny Stachela – guitar, vocals; John Ginty – keyboards; R Scott Bryan – percussion, vocals; John Lum – drums) took the stage and did not hold back. A night filled with songs from Down to the River augmented with Allman Brothers tunes and a few covers thrown in for good measure. Throughout the night Duane and Johnny Stachela lit up the stage with blistering guitar solos. The rest of the band was right there with them flowing with every twist, turn, and bend. Mid set, Devon took center stage with his Linhof T-style electric guitar in hand, and led the band through a searing version of Prince’s “Purple Rain.” Set audibles where being called and every song was like gasoline being poured on an open fire. Yeah, the Allman Betts band are for real.
The day before the show, I spoke with Duane Betts by phone from East Hampton, N.Y where the band was playing a sold out show at the Guild Hall. We started our conversation talking about the debut album, which had been released the prior week.
Mickey Deneher: Congrats on Down to the River Debuting #1 on the iTunes Rock chart. You guys have to be feeling really good about that.
Duane Betts: Yeah we’re really jazzed up about that. We put a lot of hard work into it and everybody did their job. The people came out and showed their support and interest. It made us feel really good. It’s something we look forward to building on.
You are basically capturing a moment of a band coming together and getting a live performance from one of the first times they ever played together and played that song.
Duane Betts
MD: I know that you and Devon were working with (songwriter) Stoll Vaughn for the album. Was there an even balance in the writing process or was it ‘hey I got an idea and I throw it out to you?’ How did you guys approach that?
DB: Some of the ideas were brought in. There’d be a little spark and then we’d go from there. There were a couple of things that we started from scratch together. It just depends on the tune. But it was all very collaborative. Certain people maybe contributed more in a lyrical sense to certain songs and less in the musical sense or vice versa. A lot of the tunes were: once you come up with a feeling, an idea, then all the songs kind of have to be part of a thread and tell the same story. Not that every song is talking about the same thing, but they fit together well and live together well.
The majority of it was written by myself and Devon and Stoll together. The three of us. There’s a cover on there, Tom Petty’s “Southern Accents.” There is a song written by a dear friend of mine that passed away (who) I was in a band with in my early twenties. His name is Chris Williams. He was the son of the great song writher Jerry Lynn Williams who wrote a lot of stuff for Clapton, B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt and people like that. He passed away in a car accident. But I love that song so I started playing that and we decided to use that song on the record. That’s “Autumn Breeze.” There was a song written by Cisco Adler (Down to the River), where Devon added a verse, and we worked that up. That covers the gamut.
Allman Betts Band
MD: Right out of the gate “All Night” (the first single) and “Shinin’”are straight away fun jam tunes. Then you get in to “Down to the River,” “Autumn Breeze,” “Southern Accents” and “Long Gone” – there’s a different groove to them. It’s awareness and personal insight.
DB: Yeah all those tunes just fit together. We had more tunes to choose from, but those are just the ones that ended on it and that live together. It’s always fun to write. We look forward to building on that body of work.
MD: You go into the studio, the songs were written. Did they evolve during the recording sessions or stay true to what you brought in?
DB: Some of these tunes we’d never played together. Last year as The Devon Allman Project with special guest Duane Betts, we had started playing a couple of them, maybe two or three of them. There were some that were brought in that we had never played and we worked them up in the studio. You play them a few times, start getting it good, and then you get a take, and there you have it. You’re basically listening to maybe the fifth or six time we’d ever played it. Now there are other tunes like “Autumn Breeze” we had played. “All Night” we had been playing. So some of it we had been playing and some of it we hadn’t played till we were in the studio.
“Down to the River ” Allman Betts Band album artwork
MD: Fresh stuff, experiencing it and making it happen. That’s got to be exciting – putting it together like that.
DB: Yeah. It’s a different experience. You are getting a kind of vulnerability that you wouldn’t get if you had worked it all out. You are basically capturing a moment of a band coming together and getting a live performance from one of the first times they ever played together and played that song. So that’s what unique about it. “Long Gone” is one of my personal favorites. It’s powerful and has a timeless kind of quality to it. It’s really cool and we look forward to getting it out there to more people and it’ll keep growing. Slow and steady wins the race.
MD: “Long Gone” is a great way to close out the album too.
DB: Yeah I think so. That was a good one. Good way to end.
MD: You recorded at Muscle Shoals, in one big room.
DB: Yeah that’s the way it is. The amps were isolated, the guitar amps were. Yeah we were all in a room. We could all basically see each other.
MD: What was that vibe like? It’s like the place to record.
DB: Yeah it was really cool. Really down home vibe. I really wanted it to come out good. Get good live performances. When you’re on stage and your not thinking about it and you don’t know you are being recorded it’s one thing, but when your in the studio and the drummer is around the corner, and you have head phones and all that stuff, you kind of wonder sometimes man I hope we can get a really good one. But we did really well. The vibe at the studio is everything. There’s all the records that have been recorded there. You’re in Alabama, you’re in a kind of semi-remote place in Alabama. It just kind of reeks of vibe, you know. It couldn’t be any more like down home and like real.
MD: And then you did it right after Thanksgiving, so you got to work off all that food that you ate. (Laughing)
DB: Yeah exactly. (Laughing)
There’s always jams man. We jam a ton. We are big on that. You just have to come see the show.
Duane Betts
MD: You guys are a new band. People always say about a new band they sound like this band or some name comes up. I’m sure people may have been thinking Allman Brothers 2.0 – Allman Brothers; the next generation. Influence is there, but I hear the band’s own voice coming through. Was that a conscious effort or was it a natural occurrence?
DB: We’re defiantly not trying to be the Allman Brothers, I can tell you that. There’re certain songs that require we approach it in a very musical manor. That’s just an obvious influence, because we want to approach it in a kind of elegant musical manor. Like “Autumn Breeze,” with twin guitars. Yeah there is defiantly an Allman Brothers influence there. But there are also other influences everywhere too. I think that the more stuff we do, the wider variety of influences you’ll hear. For this one, I hear Stones from the Mick Taylor era, Sticky Fingers, that style. I hear some Neil Young sounding stuff on “Long Gone.” There’s Derek and the Dominos, there’s other influences there. We have a ton of influences.
MD: And you have to draw from that. That is how you came up playing. You were influenced by those people.
DB: Yeah, that’s just what we come from. And the influence is there. There’s no doubt and we’re not trying to hide the influence.
Berry Duane Oakley, Devon Allman, John Lum, Duane Betts
MD: Lets talk about the tour. Three months in, how are those songs feeling live?
DB: We just started playing a few of them, because we didn’t want to play the whole record before the record was out. “Long Gone” has been amazing. We’ve been playing “All Night,” “Melodies are Memories,” and “Good Old Days.” We’ve been playing a few of them for quite a while and they have been feeling pretty good for a while now. We did “Southern Accents” last night. I don’t play on that, so I didn’t do it (laughing). Devon and Johnny and John Ginty did “Southern Accents” so that one was really cool. But “Long Gone” is really a stand out for all of us. We think that’s like a really poignant, serious tune that has some real credibility.
MD: And you guys have some great players talking about John and Johnny. Are you guys now indulging, some jams happening in the set these days?
DB: There’s always jams man. We jam a ton. We are big on that. You just have to come see the show.
MD: Allman Brothers songs are part of the set.
DB: A few.
MD: How do you pick them, what to play?
DB: The ones we enjoy playing, the ones that have a reaction. The combination of those two things. Just ones that aren’t obvious. We play a bunch of them. We’ll play enough. Were obviously not going to go out there and do half Allman Brothers. We’re not a tribute band. But we enjoy playing a few. We might do three or four. It just depends on the night. Sometimes we do a sit down acoustic thing and if we do that your going to hear some stuff that you won’t hear if we stand up all night. Just depends on the venue. There’s one or two you can pretty much guarantee hearing every night.
Duane Betts, Johnny Stachela
MD: I take for granted that you and Devon have known each other your entire lives. In the back of you mind do you think this band was inevitable? It was going to happen some time, some place?
DB: No. No. I don’t. I think (it was) just timing. We were doing some stuff, then that wasn’t happening. It just felt right to do it because it meant something. We didn’t agree to do the band when we agreed to go on tour together last summer (The Devon Allman Project with special guest Duane Betts). It was more for us to kind of just feel it out, put our toes in the water. It was a really good opportunity for me to promote my solo release as an opening act. Then I would sit in. At a certain point, we were like yeah. Then (thinking) maybe after we’re comfortable for a month or two, maybe we’ll sit down and write some tunes and just see what happens.
If it didn’t work out, if we weren’t really feeling it, we don’t have to do anything beyond that. But we did feel it. So that’s why there is a band. We really locked into a vision and an idea and agreed on everything. Then we built the band and we brought Stoll in to help organize and write with us. Once the ball got rolling it just felt really good. That’s why you go to the next phase, which is actually putting the band together and recording a record. But yeah, it wasn’t inevitable.
Before the show I attended, I met a man who brought his young son, five or six years old, with him to the show. This was his son’s first concert. He was so stoked that this was his first. It got me thinking of two other fathers, who I am certain, feel that same joy about their son’s rock ‘n roll dreams.
When I was very small, before I learn to talk. My father held my hand and his, And showed me how to walk. And sometimes I would cry, or sometimes I would fall, But always he was there for me, to help me thru it all
In My Father’s Footsteps – Terry Jacks
Devon Allman, Duane BettsJohn Ginty, Berry Duane Oakley, Duane Betts, John Lum, Johnny Stachela , R Scott BryonDevon AllmanJohnny Stachela , R Scott Bryan, Duane Betts, Devon Allman, John Lum, Berry Duane Oakley, John GintyDevon Allman, Johnny StachelaBerry Duane Oakley, Devon Allman, Duane Betts, Johnny Stachela, R Scott BryanDuane BettsDevon Allman, Duane BettsBerry Duane Oakley, Devon AllmanDevon Allman, JD Simo, Duane BettsBerry Duane Oakley, Devon AllmanJohn GintyBerry Duane Oakley, Devon Allman, Duane BettsDevon AllmanJohn Lum, Devon Allman, Duane Betts, Johnny Stachela, R Scott BryanDuane Betts
Mountain Jam marked year 15 by migrating to Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, the site of the original 1969 Woodstock Festival. When the change was announced earlier this year, Mountain Jam co-founder Gary Chetkof shared with the Poughkeepsie Journal: “What could be more amazing than Bethel Woods and the home of the Woodstock festival… It was really just a matter of going to the promised land.”
Driving up on Friday (day two of the four day event) I turned off NY Route 17 onto 17B. Headed down this one-lane road affectionately named “The Woodstock Way,” I started to imagine what it was like in 1969 as people abandoned their cars on the road and started walking the final 10 miles to the festival. The closer I got, I could hear Arlo Guthries’s iconic “THE NEW YORK STATE THRUWAY’S CLOSED, MAN!” in my head.
Peace flag
Festival organizers took advantage of the great expanse that Bethel Woods had to offer. The box office was located on the southern perimeter of Bethel Woods in a remote field with tall grass and mud. The flashback was suddenly becoming real. After hiking up a hill toward the festival, I found myself looking out over the site of the original Woodstock. Images of 1969 started flashing before me.
I was quickly brought back to 2019 as I strolled past campers and RV’s of various sizes and shapes with glamping professionals nestled in their folding chairs, munching on BBQ, and consuming their favorite beverages. At the entrance pockets were emptied, bags checked, and metal detector wanding was carried out by security.
Phil Lesh & Friends
Mountain Jam, spelt out in 10-foot tall letters with teepee bookends, greeted me. The sound of music was immediate. The first stage I encountered was the Valley stage, a medium sized stage with a Ferris wheel parked next to it. Acts including The Nude Party, Hollis Brown and Tyler Ramsey performed there. The Valley stage also served as the location for late night jam sessions by Andy Frassco & the U.N. and Consider the Source held on Friday and Saturday nights.
Headed farther into the festival you came upon the Mountain Stage (main pavilion amphitheater) which hosted featured performers Gov’t Mule, Willie Nelson, Dispatch, The Avett Brothers, and Phil Lesh & Friends to name a few. Add to that the Terrace stage; a performance space with seats built into a hillside, VIP stage where special acoustic sets were performed by acts who had played bigger stages earlier that day, and an event gallery space. With this cornucopia of musical riches it made it difficult to chose who and where to go to listen to music. On Saturday and Sunday the Hudson Valley based band Yard Sale busked throughout the site, injecting a free form feeling reminiscent of 1969.
The vibe,
the location, the history, the people
Intended to celebrate radio station WDST/Woodstock’s 25th anniversary, Mountain Jam started as a one-day event in 2005 by principle station owner Gary Chetkof and Warren Haynes. After 14 years at Hunter Mountain the decision to move to Bethel Woods was made. A move of 70 miles from its original location at Hunter Mountain, proving to be light years away from the previous home. The vibe from the original three days of Peace and Music festival was palpable. Tie dye, bare feet, singing and dancing was the norm. A “Wish Tree,” part of Yoko Ono’s ongoing Imagine Peace art installation series invited people to make a wish; write it on a piece of paper and attach it to the tree. The on-site security and support staff wore t-shirts with Peace Patrol emblazoned on their backs. Babbling brooks illuminated in multi-colors, open fields and dream catchers situated throughout the site augmented the vibe.
Those in attendance ran the gamut from old to young. Parents were there with their adult children, sitting on the hillside, sharing beers together while new parents introduced their young ones to the experience of live music. Many took advantage of the beautifully maintained grounds of Bethel Woods seaking out remote spots, allowing them to chill out and absorb the spirit that was Woodstock.
Zen moment
The Music
In addition to over 40 bands performing at this years Mountain Jam, rock and roll photographer Jay Blakesberg, know as the photographer of the Grateful Dead, shared a slide show telling presentation of his work to a packed event gallery audience. An easy to use Mountain Jam app was available to help you track of all the performers, their set times, locations, and help you plan your daily daily schedule. It also updates you to special activates happening in real time.
A highlight of the festival was Gov’t Mule’s Saturday night appearance (they played Friday night also) paying tribute to the bands that had performed at the original Woodstock festival. Warren Haynes, backed by percussionist Tato Melgar of Lukas Nelson & The Promise of The Real, opened the set with Richie Havens’ “Freedom.” The band’s set included The Who’s “Eye Sight to the Blind,” CSNY’s “Find The Cost Of Freedom,” and Sly Stones “I Want To Take You Higher.” Throughout the night Gov’t Mule was joined on stage by special guests including Lukas Nelson, and Arleigh Kincheloe and Jackson Kincheloe from Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds. They ended the evening’s tribute with a blistering encore of Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child (Sight Return).”
Rain did find its way to the
festival late Saturday night and sporadically on Sunday, but with all stages having
protective covering (the amphitheater has a permanent roof over the seats) the
music never stopped. Being the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, who
wouldn’t have expected it to rain at some point. After a successful four days
and establishing a new location, Mountain Jam has secured the future of Peace
& Music in the Hudson Valley.
Gov’t MuleToots & The MaytalsLukas Nelson and The Promise of The RealThe Avett BrothersAmy HelmThe RevivalistsMountain Jam coupleSister Sparrow & The Dirty BirdsAlison Krauss & Union StationBella’s BartokJoe Russo’s Almost DeadThe Big Takeover
Michael GlabickiBethel Woods securityAllman Betts BandDispatchMichael Franti & SpearheadFather and sonThe Commonheart
