Marco Benevento at Music Hall of Williamsburg – Photo: Joseph Buscarello
Marco Benevento brought his trio to Music Hall of Williamsburg on Thursday night to showcase their new album Let It Slide. Marco has been a long time fixture in the New York music scene, and that was evident by the packed house and friends engaging with and cheering Marco on from the crowd. Earlier this month, the trio was at Cohoes Music Hall, just north of Troy, NY and the album itself was recorded in Queens.
The show began with a jam packed 45 minute set from The Mattson 2 – consisting of twin brothers Jonathon and Jared Mattson. The duo’s psychedelic jazz is so energetic and dense that if you were not looking you would think there was a four-piece band on stage. Guitarist Jared Mattson loops bass lines and other melodies through a large pedal board while playing a fast-paced, jazz-rock guitar on top of it all. The chemistry between the brothers is palatable, and the banter just as comical. Even as Jared was bouncing all over the stage, the two were able to stay locked in key the whole set.
The Mattson 2 at Music Hall of Williamsburg – Photo: Joseph BuscarelloThe Mattson 2 at Music Hall of Williamsburg – Photo: Joseph Buscarello
A hometown show is always special, and a look of pure joy could be seen on Marco and the band’s faces throughout the night. The crowd was singing and dancing along to every song of the nearly two hour set. The connection between the fans and the group was obvious. Climactic parts of songs would send bassist Karina Rykman leaping into the air with her bass and Marco took every chance he could to jump up from his piano bench.
Karina Rykman at Music Hall of Williamsburg – Photo: Joseph Buscarello
The band was electric from start to finish, even when they went on extended jams, it was always captivating. The musicianship from the trio was top-notch, so good their shows are not to be missed!
Marco Benevento at Music Hall of Williamsburg – Photo: Joseph Buscarello
The tour continues across North America through February, with a quick flyover to Japan for the Festival De Frue in early November.
A tradition for more than half a century comes to a close this year. Arlo Guthrie announced that this will be his last time performing his traditional Thanksgiving show at Carnegie Hall. Guthrie has been touring for the anniversary of his iconic song “Alice’s Restaurant,” with daughter Sara Lee Guthrie this year. The pair, along with a host of family and friends, will celebrate one last time at Carnegie on November 30, 2019.
Tickets for Arlo Guthrie at Carnegie Hall and remaining 2019 tour are available. Tickets are selling fast, and the final Thanksgiving show is expected to sell out.
The song is based on a series of events that started with his friend’s Ray and Alice, who were renovating an unconsecrated church where they lived. Arthur Penn turned the song into a full-length movie in 1969, set at and around the church and starring Guthrie and many of the people acting as themselves on camera.
Guthrie purchased the church in 1991 and turned it into a thriving community center. There’s been plenty of work to do on the historic building, which has been standing nearly two hundred years. He’s had the church reconsecrated, and there are regular services.
Guthrie has worked to fulfill a dream of having a family band, in honor of his father Woody Guthrie. His children, grandchildren, and extended family have been joining him on stage over the years.
Keller Williams is in the midst of a huge tour that’s stopping in for two upcoming Upstate NY performances in Albany at Skyloft on October 24 and in Syracuse at Westcott Theater on October 25. Keller has been touring extensively this year in support of the release of his latest album, Add. NYS Music was lucky enough to catch Keller Williams for a brief interview during his busy tour schedule. He was very down to earth and easy to talk to. We quickly digressed from talking about his tour to talking about his favorite shows at Red Rocks and Phish at Lockn‘.
Williams’ upcoming record, SPEED, features his bluegrass outfit Keller & The Keels (Williams on vocals, along with progressive flatpicker Larry Keel and bassist Jenny Keel) as they reinterpret popular songs in their trademark psychedelic Appalachian bluegrass style. Some of the covers heard on SPEED include Fiona Apple’s “Criminal,” Kacey Musgraves’ “Slow Burn,” Weezer’s “Island In The Sun,” and many more. SPEED is the trio’s third collaboration together, following their 2006 release Grass and 2012’s all-covers album Thief.
When asked about where the name for the new record came form he said, “The inspiration was an excuse to hang out with my friends, the Keels”.
Melting with Larry Keel at Floydfest 2016
Keller’s got so many projects going on like Grateful Grass, Grateful Gospel, Keller & The Keels, it’s hard to keep up! That guy stays on the move. Yet he manages to be on the road for three and a half days and home for three and a half days. Very balanced. Jokingly, Keller says it only took him thirty years to develop an ideal schedule.
Keller will be playing a two-day NYE run in St. Louis at the Old Rock House. On the first night, Keller will play with The Keels, and the second night with Grateful Grass. Lots of surprises are in store, but Keller likes to keep ’em that way. You know, surprising! He is also very excited to play in the psychedelic labyrinth known as Meow Wolf.
On favorite places to play: “Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado…it’s very historic and there’s a certain amount of honor. A certain amount of history that went down there. As a music fan, I just love it. But there’s so many other places that are as epic or as historic as Red Rocks that I love playing. Any given night, any given gig, could possibly be my favorite place to play ever”.
“It’s like the best camera you have is the one you have in your hand,” I said.
“It’s like there’s two types of weed. Some and none,” Keller replied as I burst into laughter.
Yay Keller! At Lockn’ 2019
Keller is a staple of the jam community, a part of the Dead scene, and a “phan.” His music is so easily accessible to the ones around him because he is one of them. He is a Deadhead playing to Deadheads. They breathe the same air, and drink the same Kool-Aid. Keller gets it. He makes it look easy and fun, just like a good show should feel. When he plays five sets at a festival, which isn’t rare for Keller, plan to dance at all five.
All smiles. Keller at Lockn’ 2018
So we digress and start to dig into show stories from Keller’s vault…
On Red Rocks concerts that stood out and Phish: “In 1990, I started seeing Phish. In the early ’90s they started to go into arenas kind of early. And I was used to pushing my car to the Grateful Dead show ’cause the line to get in would take hours. And I would always be in these old cars that would overheat, so you had to push them in…
So I started going to Phish shows, it was probably right after Jerry died. Probably like ’96 or ’97, the run of three Phish shows at Red Rocks. I remember those being super intense.”
When a contract issue arose while Keller was in Boulder, Colorado, he checked out Odesza at Red Rocks. “I used some connections to get me and a couple of friends in. I remember standing on the top, towards the back, where you can see the stage, and hear just beautifully, and you can see the whole skyline of Denver. And I remember elevating, I think I elevated, I elevated, I rose up higher than where I was standing. It was real, it happened.”
When asked about his favorite festival, he narrowed it down to just festivals in his home state of Virginia. “Floydfest: one of the very few festivals I can go with my family. Lockn’, I go and hang out there, me and my wife go. But we don’t take our kids there.”
Keller at Floydfest 2016
His two favorite festivals are right in his home state of Virginia, both at which he makes an annual appearance. “The Blue Ridge Parkway is really popping now with color,” Keller stated as we drooled over the beauty of that mountainous state.
At Floydfest 2016, Keller was seen on stage more than anyone else. They even put him in charge of what is now an annual super jam of epic proportions. “Greg Allman had cancelled, and we put that set together. It’s become a staple at that festival every year since, with me in charge.”
With The T Sisters at Floydfest 2016, filling in for Greg Allman
If he had to be stranded on an abandoned island with one musician, Keller would like no one else to spend his time with than his already good friend and band member, Larry Keel. According to Keller, he’s also a master fisher.
Keller is just so relatable and down to earth, it’s hard to not gravitate towards him. One time at Floydfest I asked a stranger for a lighter only to realize it was Keller who I was asking, another time I ran into him at a festival in Tennessee, and we were both sweaty guys with vapes at Lockn’ in the media tent.
Keller sitting in with Twiddle at Lockn’ 2016
On the hot, hot 2016 Lock’n music festival,”
On the hot, hot 2016 Lockn’ music festival: “That was a really interesting year. There was a couple years, they’d plug in my motor home right behind stage. The year that Phish was there…you know when they come to a festival they create their own fenced in zone. It’s not just like, here’s your trailer, Phish. No, they have their own fenced in area. That extended out the fence between the public and the festival. So I could go to the fence and be in front of the speakers and in front of the screen.
And I saw so many shows sitting in a folding chair, sitting by the fence, looking up. And it was just loud as hell! And it was so hot that year we had to take naps in the day ’cause we’d been up all night, and our motor home would become a subwoofer. And would just vibrate. Yeah, that was a fun year, I remember that year very well.”
Keller Williams Grateful Gospel at Lockn’ Festival 2019
Keller is an incredibly hard working and inspiring musician who seems like he never stops, hence the new album SPEED. This man cannot be stopped. But seriously, Keller is a true staple of the jam community, the scene if you will, and it was an absolute honor to wrack his brain about his music and his relationship with the music we love.
Four years ago Matt Strong had an idea — an idea that came to him as he admired a painting a friend of his had done. The idea was to put together a fall festival celebrating Mother Earth and female musicians. As the owner-operator of Rooted Entertainment Solutions, he was finally able to bring that to fruition at Woods Valley Ski Area in Westernville, site of the past two Woods Fest Music Festivals, this past Saturday at Harvestfest: Tribute to Mother Earth.
Woods Valley owner-operator Tim Woods and Strong put their heads together to create a regional fall festival drawing from bands with strong female musicians. The result was a full day of music, collaboration, vendors, good vibes and hats, lots of hats, that lasted into the wee hours of the morning. The event culminated with a female-heavy superjam that saw the ladies collaborating on stellar versions of Labelle’s “Lady Marmalade” and Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition.”
Headliner Hayley Jane sat in with a number of the acts throughout the day and performed two sets with Rob Compa of Dopapod as well.
The running theme throughout the day was community. Attendees of all ages, including families, attended the event, greeting familiar faces and befriending unfamiliar faces. Attendees and musicians alike were seen mingling, talking music and art and just enjoying the beautiful weather.
Despite the fact that each band came from different backgrounds and different areas, there was a true sense of community felt among the musicians at Woods Valley. Many of them were meeting each other for the first time and became fast friends, with some even making plans to perform together in the future. This may have been an unintended goal in putting together such a festival but one that will surely benefit the Northeast music community for some time to come. The intended goal was surely achieved. This was a day to celebrate the power of women in music. There were several powerful performances throughout the day and one powerful organization that is quickly making its name in the live music scene.
The non-profit organization Groovesafe was on site during the festival. Groovesafe is a 501(c)(3) organization that brings awareness of the need for consent, to stand against sexual assault and unwanted touching at shows and festivals and to create safe and respectful dance spaces. It is a movement founded by Ashley Driscoll, following an incident at a Phish show in Las Vegas in the fall of 2016. To learn more about the Groovesafe movement and how you can donate or contribute to the cause, visit their website here.
Plans are already underway for Harvestfest 2.
Kari Feingold of Tailfeather, Hayley Jane and Ashley Driscoll of GroovesafeEvan Bujold and Andrea Canale skanking during Viva Mayhem’s setDwayne Keith from the New Mosaic sits in with Late EarthEmily Hoyt, Hayley Jane, Andrea Canale and Erica T. Bryan SuperjammingEmily Hoyt, Andrea Canale, Hayley Jane, Erica T. Bryan and Jessica Brown (L to R)Hayley Jane, Erica T. Bryan and Rob CompaHayley JaneBrian Lauri, Jessica Brown/Root ShockMatt StrongRob Compa and Hayley JaneRoot ShockRoot ShockRoot ShockViva MayhemViva MayhemErica T. Bryan and the New MosaicAndrea Canale/Late EarthBrock Kuca/Annie in the WaterEvan Bujold/Late EarthRob CompaErica T. BryanThe New MosaicLate Earth
The Big Damn Blues Revolution Tour will bring together three artists who are both master musicians and amazing showmen. With five stops across New York in November, The Reverend Peyton, Dom Flemons and J.D. Wilkes will take the blues-roots-folk music that they love and live on a unique tour. Each night will culminate with a special jam session featuring all three artists.
The tour begins November 6 in Asheville, N.C., then heads north for a date in Brooklyn at Knitting Factory on November 13. From there, shows in Saratoga Springs (Nov 16), Syracuse (Nov. 19), Buffalo (Nov. 20) and Corning (Nov. 21) will bring blues-driven folk across the Empire State.
The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, a 2019 Blues Music Award nominee, includes the Reverend’s wife, “Washboard” Breezy Peyton, drummer Max Senteney and is led by the Reverend Peyton, considered to be the premier fingerpickers playing today. A singularly compelling performer and persuasive evangelist, the rootsy, country-blues styles that captured his imagination early in life led him to Clarksdale, Mississippi to study under such blues masters as T-Model Ford, Robert Belfour, and David “Honeyboy” Edwards. The recently released album Poor Until Payday debuted at #1 on the iTunes Blues Chart and #4 on the Billboard Blues Chart.
Joining Reverend Peyton is Don Flemons, who draws from a repertoire of more than 100 years of American folklore, ballads, and tunes. A Grammy Award winner and two-time Emmy nominee, Dom Flemons is known as “The American Songster” and is a music scholar, historian, and multi-instrumentalist – an expert player on the banjo, fife, guitar, harmonica, jug, percussion, quills, and rhythm bones. His 2018 Smithsonian Folkways release Dom Flemons Presents Black Cowboys received a Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album. Flemons co-founded the Carolina Chocolate Drops, who won a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album in 2010 and were nominated for Best Folk Album in 2012.
J.D. Wilkesis a true Renaissance man — musician, visual artist, author, filmmaker, and self-proclaimed “Southern surrealist.” Also an accomplished multi-instrumentalist (notably on harmonica and banjo), Wilkes has recorded with Merle Haggard, John Carter Cash, Mike Patton, and Hank Williams III. Wilkes is perhaps best known as the founder of the Legendary Shack Shakers, a Southern Gothic rock and blues band whose fans include Stephen King, Robert Plant, and former Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra. Rolling Stone named Wilkes “best frontman” at the 2015 Americana Music Association Festival for his performance with the band.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wItG_D3Vuvc
Big Damn Blues Revolution Tour Dates:
Wed., Nov. 6 ASHEVILLE, NC The Grey Eagle
Thurs., Nov. 7 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. The Ramkat
Fri., Nov. 8 RALEIGH, NC The Pour House Music Hall
Sat., Nov. 9 LEESBURG, VA Third Annual Chad Dukes Veterans Day Jamboree @ Tally Ho Theater; without Dom Flemons
Sun., Nov. 10 ANNAPOLIS, MD Rams Head On Stage
Tues., Nov. 12 BOSTON, MA City Winery
Wed., Nov. 13 BROOKLYN, NY Knitting Factory
Thurs., Nov. 14 SELLERSVILLE, PA Sellersville Theater 1894; without Dom Flemons
Fri., Nov. 15 TUCKERTON, NJ Lizzie Rose Music Room; without Dom Flemons
Sat., Nov. 16 SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY Cafe Lena; without Dom Flemons
Editor’s Note:Mike Powell is a singer-songwriter from Central New York. In addition to his work as a solo artist, he also leads the soulful rock band The Black River. Powell and fellow CNY singer-songwriter Chris Merkley have embarked on a four-show mini-tour of microbreweries across the state searching for the connection between songwriting and brewing. This stop brings us to Local 315 in Warners
Powell will be returning to the studio soon to record another solo album and his band The Black River is releasing its second full-length album ‘Gypsy Winnebago’ on Nov. 1.
Merkley is the owner of Old Boy Records and curator of the Seedstock Festival in Cortland each summer.He also performs with The Crooners and Digger Jones and has composed original music for television and film, including the acclaimed HBO series Generation Kill.
This is the final installment of a four-part NYS Music series documenting the Original Gravity Tour and contributed by Powell. The first installment of Powell’s tour diary can be found here. Day two can be found here. Day three can be found here.
This past Sunday was the final show of the Original Gravity MicroTour and before I share my final recap I would like to first say thank you to Mike Kohli and NYS Music for allowing me the opportunity to be a guest contributor over the course of the past week. I highly value, respect and appreciate the energy that your team puts into keeping music fans like me up to date on the happenings around this state and beyond. I don’t get to exercise my journalistic side of the brain very often so, needless to say, this experience truly scratched a long burning creative itch.
I brewed my first batch of beer roughly ten years ago and have been homebrewing sporadically ever since. As I told Mike Kohli on the phone last night when he was asking about the timing of this final piece, I’ve always lived my life like a starved trout swimming against the stream ready to chase anything shiny that catches my eye. I guess you could say that I’m very curious by nature and I seemingly find a strong sense of comfort when I’m traveling down an unfamiliar road. I’ve learned over the years why I choose to live this way. When I learn a new skill it gives me a deeper understanding and a newfound appreciation for those that do it and those that do it well.
I knew that after I went through the process and experienced each step of brewing I would never taste a beer in the same way. After I wrote my very first song as a teenager I started to listen to music differently and on a deeper level. I started making furniture after college and since then I’ve never again sat in a chair without recognizing the craftsmanship and design. So I guess what I’m getting at is, diving headfirst into new things and venturing into new territory gives me a look under the hood on what makes it go. This approach has added color to my life’s wheel and simply fills me with deep admiration.
Coming from a former professional athlete this may sound a bit odd but I’m not a very competitive person. Well, not in the expected sense anyway. I never set out to become better than anyone else, that’s not what drives me. My drive lives on the inside, its a challenge within myself. For example, I know I will never write songs better than Bob Dylan and I’m one hundred percent aware of that fact, but I know that there’s a song in me somewhere that’s better than my last one. That is what keeps me moving. After exploring and talking with brewmasters over the past several years I think we share a similar mentality.
Our last performance saw our biggest crowd of the tour at Local 315 Brewing Company in Warners. I’ve played at this establishment quite a few times and what strikes me most is the cult-like following this brewery has created over its short time in existence. Surrounded by nothing but hop poles, goats and donkeys, this farmstead brewery has put out top quality brews and supported live original music since its inception. The weather on Sunday was absolutely perfect with the sun shining over the cornfields and illuminating the laid back outdoor area that has become this joint’s centerpiece.
With dogs chasing frisbees and kids running after one another, this atmosphere feels like you’re at a family reunion in a relative’s back yard. So Chris and I approached it that way and treated the afternoon as loose as we possibly could. Having fun with the crowd and realizing that although everyone was listening to us, we weren’t the center of attention, we were simply just playing our part and fitting into where we should. I’m happy to report that we were able to continue our live poetry on-demand experiment throughout the duration of the tour and people really seemed to get a kick out of it, everyone except Chris and myself. We closed out the Original Gravity MicroTour with our twist on “Got My Mojo Working,” finished our final beers and headed our separate ways.
This run has been a short but adventurous ride and as the sun sets on the horizon I would like to reflect back on some memorable moments.
Chris Merkley is awesome. His performances are so dialed in and tight. What I find amazing is how his musical style seems to fit in just about any scenario. Mine isn’t like that so it really stood out to me. He could play the same set at a festival, a club, a theater or a house concert and it would work and work well.
Chris Merkley almost killed a kitten with his Prius. While we were loading out our gear at Abandon Brewing we heard some purring coming from the engine. Which is normal but not when the car is off. Chris popped the hood and found a kitten sitting between the fuse box and the windshield washer fluid. Luckily he coerced it out without some old sheet pizza and carried it to safety.
We saw photographer and good friend Brian Cornish at two of the stops and he told us two separate jokes. Both of which made us laugh and neither of which would be appropriate to publish here.
I didn’t even take my camera out of my truck at Local 315, so the visual content of this post is brought to you courtesy of your very own Mike Kohli. Thank you, dude.
Although there were many highlights and funny moments when it came to the live poetry challenge we were having, my favorite moment was Chris’ lovely work of art titled “Bloody Mary” when the audience gave him the words “Worcestershire” and “butt” to work with.
Seeing familiar faces. We had several people come to every show and have fun touring with us. I think they were more into the beer component.
And finally tasting the amazing beer. Worth noting that if either of my grandfathers were alive and walked into a bar to find me smelling and swirling a flight of beer they would both kick my ass. But times have changed. I loved the Woods Valley Witte and Pocket Change IPA from Copper City, the Session and Dunkel at Abandon, 20 East NEIPA at Heritage Hill and Soul Kissed IPA from Local 315.
You haven’t see the last of Original Gravity MicroTour.
Famed author and Syracuse University alumna Joyce Carol Oates will join banjo virtuoso, songwriter and educator Tony Trischka on October 29 for a unique collaboration in Washington Heights. The evening will be recorded for Ben Arthur’s podcast SongWriter, which brings authors and musicians together to collaborate on storytelling and song-making.
The performance, hosted by the black-owned Ethiopian micro-roastery Cafe Buunni, will feature Joyce Carol Oates reading her short story, “A Brutal Murder in a Public Place,” and songwriters Tony Trischka and Jennifer Marks will perform songs written in response to her story. SongWriter is hosted by Ben Arthur, and is released as a podcast and excerpted on the syndicated radio program Acoustic Cafe for 2M listeners.
Cafe Buunni is located at 4961 Broadway between 207th Street and Isham. Take the A Train to the last stop at 207th Street. The show begins at 8pm, with a suggested donation of $10. More information can be found here.
I can imagine it is sometimes difficult to be called an Americana band. I’ve heard a number of music fans hear that description and respond, “You mean they sound like Mumford and Sons, or The Avett Brothers?” That response is not only limiting, it’s unfair. Listening to The Drunken Hearts pending release, Wheels of the City, dispels the notion that they are a one dimensional entity. There is country, with pedal steel and banjo, as well as elements of soul, some of the classic Laurel Canyon sound, touches of rock comparable to Drive-By Truckers, and alt-country stylings reminiscent of Son Volt.
The Drunken Hearts
The album, recorded at Denver’s Silo Sound Studios, starts out with “Fire in a House,” slowly building an intro, leading to a verse, a piano melody, and continuing with layers of other instrumentation and backing vocals. The tune eventually deconstructs to some degree toward the end, sonically arriving back where it began. “Alive ‘n Free” reflects the overall upbeat feel of Wheels of the City, as evidenced by the lyrics
“Sometimes in life, you get to where you want to / Sometimes in love, you fall just where you’re meant to / Sometimes this world shows you how to be free / Alive ‘n free.”
The addition of strings and a female accompanying vocal on “Passchendaele” lend a sense of sad elegance to a song about one of the most prolonged battles of World War I, and a soldier discovering lost love after returning home from war. “In the Middle” is an uptempo tune that can easily have the listener singing along, tapping their toes and swaying to the music.
“Two Hearts (On a Limb)” perhaps best fits the “Americana” genre, although The Drunken Hearts display a much broader range than any one single style. That range is displayed on “Wheels of the City.” The title tune begins with a country music feel, and as horns come in midway through the song, it morphs a bit into a soul sound. That subtle transition reflects the chameleon-like qualities of the songs, and the band as a whole. By virtue of the way the songs take advantage of multiple band members’ instrumental skills, this may well be a group that hits its stride in live performances more so than in a recording studio. That’s not to say Wheels of the City is lacking in any way, it’s simply that some bands build their chops over the course of hundreds of live gigs, and the band took a decidedly different approach to this release – writing and recording eleven new songs in eleven days, rather than recording familiar pieces that had been road tested.
The album closes with “The Cave,” which begins with a spoken word intro and leads into an instrumental section which is markedly different than the rest of the album. As noted, the band’s novel approach to this recording was a rather daring roll of the dice, with unknown possibilities.
Wheels of the City will be released on multiple platforms as well as the band’s website on Friday, October 18. For more about the band, click here.
Key Tracks: Alive ‘n Free, Two Hearts (On a Limb), Wheels of the City
The Drunken Hearts current tour will provide opportunities to see them throughout New York State. All five of those shows are in support of Yonder Mountain String Band. The Saturday, October 19 show will be a homecoming of sorts for bassist and vocalist Jon Macartan, a native of nearby Guilderland, New York, in the capital region. The New York State days are listed below.
Wednesday, October 16, at Buffalo’s Tralf Music Hall Tickets here.
Thursday, October 17, at Center for the Arts of Homer Tickets here.
Saturday, October 19, at Putnam Place in Saratoga Springs Tickets here.
Thursday, November 11 at Brooklyn Bowl Tickets here.
Sunday, November 17 at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock Tickets here.
Editor’s Note:Mike Powell is a singer-songwriter from Central New York. In addition to his work as a solo artist, he also leads the soulful rock band The Black River. Powell and fellow CNY singer-songwriter Chris Merkley are embarking on a four-show mini-tour of microbreweries across the state searching for the connection between songwriting and brewing. This stop brings us to Abandon Brewing Co. in Penn Yan.
This is the second of a four-part NYS Music series contributed by Powell. The first installment of Powell’s tour diary can be found here.
“I am my own captain
On this ship I sail to sea”
I don’t have a manager. I don’t have a booking agent. I don’t have a publicist. I’m completely independent in every way but I’m certainly not alone. There are thousands of artist just like me that are making lives in music while handling their own booking, designing their own show posters, running their websites, printing their own shirts and funding their own records. There’s a real freedom that lives inside this type of self-reliant approach to making art. It’s certainly a major challenge and it definitely forces you to become a Swiss army knife in many ways. But I love everything about it…well, everything except the booking component.
I hate booking myself. It’s the absolute worst. It’s an incredibly time-consuming process that just really frustrates the hell out of me. But worst of all is I just can not stand “selling” myself to venues. It goes against everything that my parents taught me about being humble. Telling someone that you’re good is just about the most uncomfortable thing I’ve ever experienced in my life.
I have a public confession to make. When I first started booking tours for myself back in 2008 I created a separate Gmail account to send my press kit from because the whole self-promotion thing weirds me out so much. I even used a fake name, Theo. It seemed to work out okay and made me feel a little less guilty about self-promotion until I would be loading in for a show and the talent buyer would ask if Theo was going to be around.
“Theo”
Through my years of traveling and having countless green room conversations with fellow artists, I was happy to find out that I’m certainly not the first or the last to try the old fake name trick. In fact, I’ve laughed with dozens of songwriters about the fake name that they used and some even continue to use.
Theo was getting gigs for me but it just didn’t feel right so I made a conscious decision to stop forcing it and just try to focus on playing rooms that feel right and fit my music. It was this simple decision that freed me up to focus more on what I needed to, writing better songs and honing my performance. Soon I realized that the opportunities started to reveal themselves. I started to find fun in the word of mouth search for venues around my region that are true gems. I realized quickly that you can Google search all you want but you won’t organically find the right rooms that way.
I began asking questions. I started to talk to music lovers about their favorite places to see live music. I would ask touring songwriters that I opened for where their favorite places to play were. This approach has worked out for me and taken the pressure off of the awkward cold email approach.
Three years ago I started to notice a tall shadowy figure in a trench coat, cowboy boots and a ponytail was attending many of my shows. I like to personally thank everyone that comes out to see me play with a handshake. So after about the third time I saw this man at one of my shows I decided I needed to go introduce myself to him. His name is Patrick O’Malley and from that day forth we have maintained a wonderful relationship. He’s just a great dude that loves music, has experience booking acts at various venues around the state and has a great understanding of how to create a cool experience for the artist and the audience.
Three months ago I got a text from Patrick and he said, “You’ve gotta see this room.” He attached a picture of a big stage in an old barn surrounded by rustic beams and elegant string lighting. He knew it, it was my kind of place. I immediately fired back and said, “WHERE IS THIS?” and he replied “Abandon Brewing in Penn Yan.”
Yesterday was in my opinion, the perfect New York day. The leaves were turning, the sun was shining and the air was clean. I hopped in my truck and headed west from my home in Cazenovia bound for stop number two on the Original Gravity MicroTour at Abandon Brewing. I love driving and there are few drives more magical than the one that threads through the Finger Lakes on a classic fall day.
I arrived at about four o’clock while the sun was high but dropping fast and my first glimpse from the parking lot revealed an incredible old barn that sat overlooking beautiful Keuka Lake. What an expansive and magical view. I passed through the giant doors and found a perfect sized bar and a solo performer on that familiar stage I recognized from Patrick’s photo. Patrick’s picture just did not do the place justice.
Chris arrived and we shared a tasty session Saison created by the talented and prolific brewmaster Jeff. Our eyes drifted all around this geothermal powered farmstead brewery and we talked about how amazing the acoustics were in this old barn. We met one of the owners, AJ, who happens to also be in a Rochester-based bluegrass band, thus reinforcing that connection we’ve set out to explore on this tour between beer and music. So needless to say we felt right at home.
The sun went down and they fired up the heaters inside the old barn and we played our sets for a playful and respectful crowd. The beer options were plentiful and flat out fantastic and again, the sound was top notch. I can see this venue really becoming a place that traveling acts of various genres will seek out for years to come because of the vibe, location, sound, the aesthetic and overall experience at Abandon.
Thank you to Patrick for sending that text message and everyone who came out to see Chris and me. Such a killer night. Its nights like last night that make me say to myself, “Man, I am so lucky to be doing this”.
Sincerely,
Theo
The video below gives a view of the second stop of the Original Gravity Tour at Abandon Brewing Company in Penn Yan with interview footage of tourmate Chris Merkley.
Powell and Merkley continue their Original Gravity tour on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 3:00 p.m. at Heritage Hill Brewhouse in Pompey and Local 315 Brewing Company in Warners on Sunday, Oct. 13, also at 3:00 p.m.
Editor’s Note: Mike Powell is a singer-songwriter from Central New York. In addition to his work as a solo artist, he also leads the soulful rock band The Black River. Powell and fellow CNY singer-songwriter Chris Merkley are embarking on a four-show Original Gravity mini-tour of microbreweries across the state searching for the connection between songwriting and brewing.
This is the first of a four-part NYS Music series contributed by Powell. Additional photos contributed by NYS Music staff.
There are few relationships more felicitous than the one that exists between beer and music. My love for songs and storytelling began in the late ’80s when I was just a kid laying on a shag carpet underneath our Formica kitchen table. My father would regularly invite his work buddies over to our house after the whistle blew at the paper mill and they would sit around banging away on old guitars, breathing into harmonicas and drinking cases of Genny Light. I would hide quietly, listen closely and watch as their oil-stained work boots tapped along to the beat of songs like “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”, “Desperados Waiting For A Train” and “On The Road Again”.
At the conclusion of just about every song, one of the men at the table would take the floor and share an often hilarious story with the others. These stories and these songs from hardworking men in greasy blue uniforms in many ways became the backbone of what I’ve spent the past ten years of my life doing. Above the sound of the human voice, the wailing tone of a harp and the thump of a dreadnought I so vividly remember the signature snap of that blue aluminum can popping open – beer was just part of the ceremony.
The genesis of the Original Gravity MicroTour was a simple phone conversation I had in August with my friend and fellow songwriter Chris Merkley. He and I became fast friends last year while doing a run that included stops at some of the best little theaters in Central New York like Nelson Odeon, Borodino Hall, Earlville Opera House and the Auburn Public Theater. His ability as a performer is undeniable but what I find most admirable is his strong sense of community and ability to inject creativity into all that he does. Take a trip out to Cortland for one of his Seedstock Music Festivals and you’ll see exactly what I am talking about.
This particular conversation centered around playing shows together again but we didn’t want it to be standard boilerplate. We both needed to do it differently and find a way to shine a light on other like-minded folks doing amazing things in their own arenas. Our talk quickly spun out of control, per usual, and our minds started collectively racing towards the topic of a small craft brewery tour.
We talked about how craft breweries have created a whole new stage for original musicians like us and how grateful we are that they exist. We started asking each other deep psychological questions like, “Do people that prefer a craft beer experience have something in their make-up that makes them more apt to digest original music?” “Are there similarities between songwriters and brewers?” “Why make your own beer when there’s plenty of great beer being made all around the world?” “Why write songs when there are millions of amazing songs already written?” The aim of the Original Gravity MicroTour is to take a four-night deep-dive exploration into the analogous union between original songwriters and craft brewers.
After I hung up with Chris I immediately put in an excited call to my dear friend Mike Kohli who happens to be one of the biggest music supporters I know, a lover of craft beer and the editor of this here media outlet. I told Mike our plans and I asked if he would perhaps allow me to be a guest content provider during the MicroTour and he graciously agreed. He told me that he has had a very similar idea kicking around in his brain for quite some time and has been waiting for the right moment to tell the story. And since I had him on the phone already I decided to push the envelope and take it one step further. I said, “How about we kick the thing off on your home turf, Copper City Brewing Company?” And he said, “HELL YEAH…I mean, let me check with the owners Dan and Lori.”
For over 80 years, the city of Rome has lacked the presence of a local microbrewery. Prohibition effectively shut down the last of them in the 1930s and the void remained until the visionary couples Dan and Lori Colasanti Frieden and Eric and Erica Sheible Daniels spoke up in 2015 and announced their ambitious plans to bring brewing back to Rome. After looking all over town for the right property they landed on a renovation project at 1111 Oneida Street on Rome’s east side.
When you push through the doors of CCBC you’ll most certainly be greeted with a big smile from behind the bar as your eyes scan around the modern industrial motif. The fresh grainy smell will hit your senses, your mouth will water and your palette will prepare. As a musician, the first thing I noticed walking in was an elegant nook off to the left with comfortable seating, board games and a guitar on a stand that is welcome to be played by any and all patrons. The room itself is an interesting juxtaposition because although it has several rigid metal touches it somehow gives off a thoughtful warmth. I’ve played shows at Copper City three or four times now and I’ve come to realize that the warmth comes from the people inside it.
Chris and I had an awesome time on night number one. Perhaps my favorite part of the night was our attempt at doing on-demand poetry. During Chris’ set, he asked the crowd to throw out a couple of words and I would be tasked with writing a poem related to them in real-time and present it by the time I took the stage. Well, the audience gave me “Camel Unicorn” and I thought I wrote a pretty good poem under pressure. But after my reading, I asked for the audience to now give me a couple of words for Chris to work with and I selected “Asbestos Shed”. I thought he was going to struggle. But in true Merkley fashion, he won the night and got the biggest eruption from the crowd with his incredible tale of smashing his face after falling not so gracefully from a shed as a kid.
Big thanks to Copper City for the incredible hospitality, wonderful beer and all that came out to hear us. This train rolls on to Abandon Brewing tonight in Penn Yan where I plan to dethrone Merkley as the top on-demand poet on this tour.
Below is a video documenting the first night of the tour. Featured are Copper City Brewing Company co-owner Dan Frieden and the brewery’s talent buyer and NYS Music Editor-in-Chief Mike Kohli.
Powell and Merkley continue their tour on Friday, Oct. 11 at Abandon Brewing Company overlooking Keuka Lake in Penn Yan. Tickets for the 8:00 p.m. show are available at the door. Additional dates on the tour include Heritage Hill Brewhouse in Pompey on Saturday, Oct. 12 and Local 315 Brewing Company in Warners on Sunday, Oct. 13.
Mike Powell & Chris Merkley perform at Copper City Brewing in RomeMike Powell interviews Chris MerkleyChris MerkleyChris MerkleyMike PowellMike Powell
