Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe ‘Thick As Thieves Fall Tour 2019’ will roll through Saratoga Springs on October 18 for a hot night of funk at Putnam Place. On the heels of touring the U.S. this summer as the saxophonist in The Rolling Stones, Denson reconvenes KDTU for 22 dates this fall, mixing headline performances alongside several dates supporting Thievery Corporation.
Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe is supporting its latest studio album, Gnomes & Badgers, out now on Seven Spheres Records. Distilling the sweeping stylistic range of KDTU’s concert performances into their own authentic sound, the inimitable Denson and his long-standing seven piece unit that includes guitarist DJ Williams, drummer Zak Najor, bassist Chris Stillwell, keyboardist David Veith, trumpeter Chris Littlefield and slide/lap steel guitarist Seth Freeman have delivered what is undoubtedly their strongest work yet.
The album’s first video and single, “Change My Way,” makes a poignant statement about the current crisis at the U.S. border. The clip was directed by award-winning director, writer and producer TG Herrington, whose work includes ‘The Free State of Jones,’ a series of music videos for Paul McCartney and the new feature-length documentary ‘A Tuba To Cuba.’ Denson co-wrote “Change My Way” with New Orleans singer-songwriter Anders Osborne and co-produced the track with Adrian Quesada (Brownout, Spanish Gold).
KARL DENSON’S TINY UNIVERSE Thick As Thieves Fall Tour 2019
10/3 – Charleston, SC – The Pour House 10/4 – Macon, GA – Big House Museum 10/5 – Asheville, NC – Orange Peel 10/6 – Virginia Beach, VA – Elevation 27 10/8 – Washington, DC – The Hamilton Live 10/9 – Charlotte, NC – The Neighborhood Theatre 10/10 – Richmond, VA – The Broadberry 10/11 – Pittsburgh, PA – Rex Theater 10/12 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore * 10/13 – Boston, MA – House of Blues * 10/15 – Portland, ME – Aura 10/16 – Quebec City, Canada – Le Capitole * 10/17 – Montreal, Canada – Mtelus * 10/18 – Saratoga, NY – Putnam Place 10/24 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore * 10/25 – Indianapolis, IN – The Vogue * 10/27 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater * 10/28 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues * 11/6 – Miami, FL – The Fillmore * 11/7 – Tampa, FL – The Ritz * 11/8 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle * 11/9 – Orlando, FL – House of Blues *
Famed rock photographer Jay Blakesberg has announced the release of his latest photographic endeavor, JERRY GARCIA: Secret Space of Dreams – a fine art, hardcover photography book of Jerry Garcia, beginning from the middle of his career with the Grateful Dead and covering the last third of his life.
In early September 1977, the Grateful Dead performed four Labor Day weekend concerts along the east coast and at the legendary September 3rd Englishtown, NJ show where Blakesberg’s connection with the Grateful Dead was born. A year later, on September 2, 1978 at Giants Stadium, Blakesberg’s father, an amateur shutterbug himself, loaned his 16-year-old son his Pentax camera, a couple of lenses and a few rolls of film to photograph the Grateful Dead for the very first time. A photograph of Jerry Garcia from this show begins the chronological display of photographs that spans the following decades of Garcia’s life in JERRY GARCIA: Secret Space of Dreams.
The book’s Foreword is written by Grammy-award winning musician and guitar master John Mayer, who has been touring with the surviving members of the Grateful Dead as Dead & Company’s lead guitarist and vocalist since 2015. Providing the unique perspective of re-interpreting the lead guitar slot once held by Jerry Garcia, Mayer explores the magic and distinction of Garcia’s playing and the profound and lasting impact of his music on the world.
“I’ve always said that musicians play like they are, and in the case of Garcia, his performances serve as a detailed map of a man, his intentions, his desires, and his impressions of the world around him,“ Mayer writes. “And going by that map, Garcia was a lovely, mighty soul. I never met him and will never understand the loss of those who did, but the vast archive of his music amounts to the makings of a starry night sky that turns listeners into explorers.”
John Mayer
The introduction, by journalist, musician, radio host and Grateful Dead historian David Gans, dives deep into the character and charisma of the mythical non-frontman, frontman – and Blakesberg’s innate ability to capture Garcia’s magic on film. In the book’s 208 pages, Blakesberg shares 139 photographs of Garcia spanning nearly 20 years––September 2nd, 1978 (at Giants Stadium) through the April 1995 making of the “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” music video. With an essay by Garcia’s daughter Trixie and quotes from the likes of Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, David Crosby, Jim James, Carlos Santana, Trey Anastasio, Robert Hunter, Jackie Greene, Jorma Kaukonen, Country Joe McDonald, David Grisman, the “core four” members of the Grateful Dead––Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart– and more, Blakesberg leads us on a visual journey of Garcia’s life, both on and off the stage.
In the afterword, Widespread Panic founding member, author, and producer Dave Schools muses on the man, myth and legend portrayed in the pages of the photographic biography. Schools thoughtfully reflects on Garcia’s ability to “display his own frailty in the service of the song,” and to connect with the audience as participants in the performance.
“These are just some of the attributes of a human being who led without leading, who conveyed his own truth better through his music than he was able to do through the spoken word…and who lived the majority of his life onstage being part of a performance troupe that went far beyond the sum of its parts,” he writes. “And luckily for those of us who want and need to remember such experiences we have a vast recorded archive of music, millions of words both scholarly and lay, and in our hands now these magnificently telling photographs by Jay Blakesberg so that we can always queue up the memories of our shared experiences with a rare human being known as Jerry Garcia and his equally rare cohorts.”
Dave Schools
The release of JERRY GARCIA: Secret Space of Dreams comes on the heels of Blakesberg’s recent photography books FARE THEE WELL: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Grateful Dead (December 1, 2015) and Eyes of the World – Grateful Dead Photography 1965-1995, (October 23, 2017). FARE THEE WELL is a vibrant visual record of the Grateful Dead’s 50th anniversary “Fare Thee Well” concerts, gathering iconic images from all five performances, plus two rehearsal days, as well as band portraits, a few archival images, written tributes and setlists from the historic shows. Eyes of the World celebrates The Grateful Dead with photographs spanning their entire career from the likes of Jim Marshall, Annie Leibovitz, Herb Greene, Peter Simon (60 different photographers) and Blakesberg, who has the most photos in the book from any single photographer.
Signed copies of JERRY GARCIA: Secret Space of Dreams are available now for pre-order. Pre-orders will begin shipping September 23.
Music is Medicine Festival, a one day music festival helping raise awareness for Pancreatitis, will be held on Saturday, September 14 at Putnam Place in Saratoga Springs. Headlined by Bret Bollinger (of Pepper), the event is co-headlined by funkmasters Hartley’s Encore from Albany who will kick off the event.
The genesis of the festival comes from founder Jetta Intelisano’s wife Kate, who has been battling this disease and nearly lost her life three times in the past year. Countless trips to NYC to see a specialist to have dangerous, and life-threatening procedures performed to save her life. Out of this tragic situation, Jetta has endeavored to raise awareness of this disease through our common love of music. Join Music is Medicine in this celebration as the community embarks to find better treatment and ultimately, a cure.
Additional music performances at Music Is Medicine Festival include Resinated (St. Petersburg, FL), Audic Empire (Austin, TX), Joint Operation (Baltimore, MD), The Brothers Grim (Rome, NY), and The Lateshift (Albany, NY). For more information, visit the event page.
On Sunday, August 25, Beau Fleuve Music & Arts Festival hosted their third annual festival at Silo City in Buffalo. The one day event, an “Ultimate Sunday Funday,” lived up to its name and featured more than 30 performances of all genres of music, as well as art installations, a silent disco, vendors village, beer and wine garden and much more.
The big takeaway from the festival was the diversity of the event. Artists and performers included Curtis Lovell, Miller & the Other Sinners, DJ Magic, The Sofa Kingz, Heather Russell and many more. From the music to the art, those that attended were of all ages, walks of life, backgrounds and nationalities and enjoyed a care free day with the historic Buffalo Backdrop of the Silos.
Check out the festival recap video below, and a photo gallery from the festival here.
Brian Stollery, former Video Director for Relix, brings his more than five years of experience in the music industry with a focus on bringing the best business solution to his clients.
Coptium (loosely, “choose growth” in Latin) is a term that any business, particularly those in the entertainment industry can embrace – in order to remain competitive and successful, you must grow. Alongside growth comes the need for professionals to help small businesses to develop and reach their potential.
Enter Coptium, a management consulting firm that offers an unprecedented, holistic, human approach to traditional consulting and management. With a team including a Fortune 500 marketing company, Madonna’s former business manager, and a team of industry experts, Coptium offers effective, robust accounting, business management, social media and marketing services at a fraction of the traditional cost.
The end goal is simple: A world in which music and art are supported and valued as equally as the corporate dollar. How to tie art with financial freedom? Coptium’s “Launch” series is a new, curated showcase concert series that truly nurtures and artists work, provides and activated community around their music, and compensates them with not only monetary pay, but also business and financial support services.”
Pete Mason: When did the idea to create a business like Coptium come together?
Brian Stollery: When I was creating videos at Relix, it was a lot of fun and something I enjoyed, but I was one person and could only work with one band or artist on a video at a time. It would go online, it would get views, it might move the needle for the band or the event. I quite simply wanted to widen my scope and now I am working with renewed focus on moving the needle of the world. As much as I love making a video with a band, I would much rather step in and help bands really move the needle and really grow their bottom line. And I have found that a lot of bands historically don’t think of themselves as a business. They don’t have a P&L sheet, they don’t generally file taxes as a band, and they don’t think of themselves as a viable financial business entity.
The team I put together can help them do this. Artists can create and do what they want to do while we take care of the rest. With Coptium, we can widen the scope and effect the entire community as a whole, rather than just with one band at a time.
PM: What do you find is the biggest initial hurdle bands face?
BS: Bands rarely have startup capital. Musicians know how to create, they know how to play music and so much of that comes from feeling and emotion and that space in our brain, but bands are never coming from the analytical part, the business side of things. They’re never saying “Let’s form a band, and then reinvest 20% of our gross! Then let’s look into tax deferment and pay our taxes quarterly!” No band ever says that, because they’re musicians and they like to play music. If they wanted to do business, they would have gotten an MBA. If you look at some bands with startup capital that have a business manager, they are the bands still out there today playing and making money.
PM: What is the best advice you can offer bands that are starting out?
BS: Get a band credit card, put all your expenses for touring on that credit card. Log a spreadsheet of all of your income, a note on each performance’s revenue. Create another spreadsheet of expenses, and that’s all you need to always be flat with the IRS. If you have an accountant, that would make their life easier. If you do band taxes through Turbotax or one of those companies, you could do your taxes in an hour. There are a million reasons you may bypass this, but this is your business and you are allowed to deduct business expenses from taxes. If you don’t do that, you are probably overpaying on taxes. It sounds so counterintuitive as a musician to put your income and expenses on a spreadsheet, but it is a very easy way to actually see if you have a profitable foundation for your business.
If you’re interested in performing as part of the “Launch” concert series, or interested in learning more about Coptium’s business services, contact Launch@Coptium.com for more info.
A great movie can act as a time capsule, documenting a specific era in time to relive, revisit and enjoy in the days to come, and that’s essentially what Turkuaz did in late 2018 while filming a live performance, which was promised to be released as a film at a later date.
“None’s A Ton is our first time truly capturing the Turkuaz show experience in a live concert film,” shares Turkuaz frontman, Dave Brandwein, who also co-directed and is credited as an Executive Producer on the film. “It’s something we’ve dreamed of doing for a long time and finally, it has arrived. This film is sort of a ‘best of’ of our favorite moments that have developed on stage over the last five years of non-stop, coast-to-coast touring.”
On Tuesday, September 10th and for one night only, Turkuaz will screen their feature film debut, None’s A Ton, in their hometown of Brooklyn, NY at Prospect Park’s Nitehawk Cinema.
“We feel it’s the next best thing to being at a Turkuaz show (and maybe, it’s even better if you have your feet up with a bowl of popcorn!),” adds Brandwein. “We want you to feel the raw energy, the sweat and the excitement, but from the comfort of your own home, smartphone, or however, you choose to enjoy it.”
For this very special film debut, fans are invited to join members of Turkuaz and the film’s co-director and Executive Producer, Dani Brandwein, for the screening premiere of None’s A Ton over dinner at the lovely Nitehawk Cinema located in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Directly after the film premiere, fans have the opportunity to participate in a Q & A session with band members and the film’s directors.
For an elevated experience and a chance to score some exclusive merch, fans can upgrade to VIP for a meet & greet opportunity, photo with the band and a signed movie poster, in addition to the above offerings. VIP ticket holders must also purchase a GA ticket.
GA tickets and VIP upgrades for the None’s A Ton premiere are .
Turkuaz Fall Tour Dates
9/10 – Brooklyn, NY – Nitehawk Cinema Park Slope !
9/20 & 9/21 – Perris, CA – Same Same But Different Festival
9/20 – 9/22 – Felton, CA – Mountain Sol Fest
9/29 & 9/30 – Tokyo, Japan – Blue Note Tokyo
10/4 – 10/6 – Kings Beach, Australia – Caloundra Music Festival
10/11 – Atlanta, GA – Terminal West *
10/12 – Mills River, NC – Sierra Nevada Concert Series
10/13 – Pittsburgh, PA – Rex Theater ^
10/19 – Washington, DC – Night At the Point
10/20 – Corolla, NC – Mustang Rock & Roast
10/31 – Toronto, ON – Velvet Underground * 11/1 – Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom * 11/2 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Putnam Place
12/5 – Fairfield, CT – Warehouse ~
12/6 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of The Living Arts ~
12/7 – Salem, VA – Salem Civic Center %
12/12 – Kalamazoo, MI – Bells Brewery #
12/13 – Indianapolis, IN – The Vogue Theater #
12/14 – Nashville, TN – Exit / In #
12/31 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater$
1/7 – 1/12 – Miami, FL – Jam Cruise
* w/ Wild Adriatic
^ w/ Andy Frasco
~ w/ Great Time
! notes None’s A Ton Film Premiere
% w/ The Isley Brothers
# w/ Paris Monster
Live From Here hosted by Chris Thile will return this month with the fourth season of the weekly variety show from their new home at New York City’s Town Hall. Thile and producers American Public Media announced in May that the show’s creative and production teams would move from St. Paul, MN to NYC.
“Next season, our public radio listeners and live-stream viewers will get the best and broadest selection of music and musicians we can possibly present,” Thile said via press release, “and they can also expect an expanded range of spoken word content, including poetry, literature, comedy and storytelling.”
Live From Here‘s fourth season kicks off Sept. 7, with additional performances on Sept. 14 and 28, Oct. 12 and 26, Nov. 2, 16 and 23; and Dec. 7 and 14.
Guests for the season premiere include Ezra Koenig, frontman for Vampire Weekend, Natalia Lafourcade, Sarah Jarosz, Jake Gyllenhaal, Matt Braunger, and Holly Laurentand. The season continues with The Lumineers, Raphael Saadiq, Aparna Nancherla, Maria Popova, and Rachael Price on Sept. 14, then Jamila Woods, John Cameron Mitchell, Ann Patchett, and Tom Papa Sept. 28.
Oct. 12 brings Trey Anastasio plus The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra featuring trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, Sarah Jarosz, and Tom Papa, and Oct. 26 features Lake Street Dive frontwoman Rachael Price. Guests on Nov. 2 include Gregory Alan Isakov and Aoife O’Donovan. More artists and guests will be announced soon.
Tickets for the fall season are already on sale. To sign up for the Live from Here newsletter and for more information, visit LiveFromHere.org.
Neal Casal, prolific guitarist and member of Circles Around the Sun, Chris Robinson Brotherhood and many more over his career, has died at age 50. Pitchfork reports through a representative of Casal that the death was ruled a suicide. The tragic news was confirmed on Neal’s Instagram account this morning.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1qfCJHDC73/
A native of Denville, NJ, Casal was best known for his work with Circles Around the Sun, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, Hazy Malaze and Blackfoot. Ryan Adams shared his thoughts this morning on his Cardinals bandmate
Oh man. My heart is broken What an honor to have known you, true believer. I love you. Go easy “I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain”#RIPNealCasalpic.twitter.com/4vlj3l2EoU
Casal had performed at Lockn’ Festival in Arrington, VA. this past weekend with Circles Around the Sun (as well as with Oteil and Friends), a project that originated from being tapped to compose music played over the P.A. during setbreak of Fare Thee Well in July 2015. That music was so well received by fans, that Circles Around the Sun released the music as a double album,Interludes for the Dead, in 2016 and made their debut at Lockn’ Festival that summer, as noted by Jambase.
In addition to his recent success with Circles Around the Sun, Casal was an original member of Chris Robinson Brotherhood alongside the Black Crowes co-founder. From 2005-2009, Casal was a member of Ryan Adams and The Cardinals, during which time Easy Tiger and Cardinology were released to critical acclaim. Neal spoke with American Songwriter in 2012 and said this of his time with The Cardinals:
“It really was a great lineup… For a couple years there, man, we were on fire. We really were. We were playing some amazing shows and running through Ryan’s entire catalog, just burning those songs to the ground. We really felt confident for awhile. We had a lot of synergy, we were all really connected, and everyone believed in it. We were firing on all cylinders. It was a great thing to be a part of.”
Casal was also a founding member of Hard Working Americans, a supergroup including Dave Schools and Duane Trucks (Widespread Panic), singer Todd Snider, and Chad Staehly (Great American Taxi), and performed with Phil Lesh and Friends on numerous occasions. Neal was also a photographer who shot cover art for a number of albums and publications.
This October 18, Casal’s upcoming EP Circles Around the Sun Meets Joe Russo, is scheduled to be released. Listen to “Peace Reprise” from the forthcoming album.
Brooklyn rapper BURG has released his highly anticipated single and official video for his song “Willis.” Produced by Penacho, “Willis” comes after Penacho’s critically acclaimed work with artists including Tyga, Lil Skies, and Bow Wow.
BURG is an up and coming rapper hailing from Williamsburg Brooklyn’s south side, which unlike the stereotypical hipster clad north side, the south side is a long standing, generally working class, Dominican area.
His brother Tone, who is featured through out the video, has his hand on the business end of things, releasing the single via their label Stosic Co. The video was directed by award winning film producer, Jason Ludman under his newly formed collective FMH.
As a producer, Ludman has had films play around the world at festivals such as TIFF, Edinburgh and Cannes. His last film #Horror (Chloe Sevingy, Timothy Hutton) was released in 2015 by IFC and by Paramount in the UK in 2016.
The video was shot by cinematographer Fanny Texier whose “color obsessed women” videos for the NY Post, about women whose whole lives (clothes, furniture, hair, etc…) revolve around one single color.
BURG is currently posted up in Williamsburg’s Key + Needle Studios, working on new music to be released this fall.
The life of Afrobeat’s founder, Fela Kuti, was celebrated in the 2009 Broadway musical concert Fela!, and on Monday, July 29, the concert experience celebrating his music came to an enthusiastic, and curious, crowd at Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Kuti used the Afrobeat sound to push back against the post-colonial government of Nigeria in the 1970s, a prime example of Kuti’s mantra “music is the weapon of the future.” As it was then and is now, new era protest music and this performance brought Kuti’s music to life for all to draw from.
Photo by Jim Gilbert
With a 10-piece band on stage, including three percussionist and four horns, as well as an ensemble with five members (2 men, 3 women) who sang alongside Duain Richmond (Fela Anikulapo-Kuti), the stage was lit up through dance. One that had fervor and energy not seen at SPAC in ages. This was not dancing for the faint-of-heart, or hips, as Richmond said to the crowd throughout the show: “Everybody say Yeah Yeah.” Audience engagement that is a hallmark of Afrobeat concerts became coupled with some of the best on-stage dancing you’ll find anywhere.
With the start of “Expensive Shit,” Richmond led the band to give the audience an introduction to Afrobeat. Starting with the drums, then guitar, then bass set the groove, and soon the horns came in. If you were not moving, you should check your pulse. The ensemble taught the crowd how to dance by moving their hips to the hours on a clock. “1 & 7,” “3-6-9” and “12 & 6” got the booties shaking and fans out of their seats. Dancing from ensemble members Oneika Phillips, Iris Wilson and Afi Bijou became more furious and fully engaging.
“Zombie” found the crowd being invited into the covered orchestra pit, where each audience member shook what they had. From kids to parents, and grandparents, everyone was getting down to the beat of the band. As the show closed with “Colonial Mentality,” Kuti’s anti-colonial anthem, the crowd was back in the pit dancing with the ensemble, and Richmond, engaging in a form of protest that Kuti would surely look upon with a smile and hope for the future.
Setlist: Everything Scatter, The Clock – Yellow Fever, Ikoyi Blindess, Trouble Sleep Yanga Wake Am, Expensive Shit, Water No Get Enemy, Zombie, Sorrow Tears and Blood, Opposite People, No Buredi.
