Wolfmother brought their fast-paced hard rock to the famed Irving Plaza on Monday, June 10. Andrew Stockdale lead the Australian outfit through a full set list of the band’s famed hits. His band now includes former member of The Vines, drummer Hamish Rosser, and bassist Brad Heald. Their camaraderie really shows in the flow and style of the band and compliments Stockdale’s heavy, raunchy, psychedelic Gibson SG sound. From hits “Woman” to the encore, “Joker & The Thief,” Wolfmother reminds you how awesome a good rock show can be.
Setlist: Victorious, White Unicorn, Colossal, Woman, New Moon Rising, Apple Tree, Mind’s Eye, Dimension, California Queen, Vagabond, Pyramid, Gypsy Caravan
Rock lovers of the Hudson Valley rejoice. The Tail Winds Music Festival, located in Wappingers Falls, takes place on June 29. The all day event will feature eight renowned rock performances, food and drink, and family-friendly activities.
Comprised of Chris Robinson (lead vocals, guitar), Neal Casal (guitar), Tony Leone (drums), and Jeff Hill (bass), the folk/psychedelic rock band, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, is headlining the festival. Constantly pushing boundaries with their music, CRB provides an American folk/psychadelic rock sound. Joining them on the lineup is Black Stone Cherry, Geoff Tate’s Operation: Mindcrime, King’s X, Sass Jordan, The Jason Gisser Band, Big Guns, and The PlayBack, rounding out a full day of non-stop music.
Tail Winds Music Festival also offers food and drinks from a variety of food trucks and craft breweries, helicopter rides to experience a bird’s eye view of the festival, and family-friendly activities everyone can enjoy. For more information and ticket information for the festival click here.
Check out the Chris Robinson Brotherhood’s performance of “Rare Birds” live from The Shed this past weekend below.
After the Crossgates Mall crowd at Jupiter Hall in Albany dissipated, the dark metal corridors echoed with the growling sounds of screams from beyond.
The Chaos Collective, an upstate live entertainment group, and event manager Joe Vonschinzel, brought the areas darkest, loudest, most theatrical death and black metal bands together for what will, unfortunately, be one of the venue’s last shows.
As you walked to the closed doors and slowly opened them, you could see blue and white light pulsating from the stage. The screams and drums, mixed with wailing deep guitars, made one feel as though they were entering another world, another dimension. The bands put it all out there for the fans, and the fans loved every thunderous moment.
The metal lineup for the night at Jupiter Hall was: Vile Tyrant, Goatmass, Scavengers, Organ Harvest, Faced518. Jupiter Hall will have their last show next weekend, June 14, with Revenge, a non-make up Kiss tribute, Frank Palangi, The Hard Luck Souls, and Wasteland Junction.
Since its inception back in 2009 Albany based punk band, The Slaughterhouse Chorus, have been taking no prisoners with their aggressive, in-your-face musical style. With the release of their fourth record, …In The Name Of Progress, the band has penned its swan song and will be disbanding later this year. After ten years of touring and recording original material, the members of The Slaughterhouse Chorus, which is comprised of Chris Jordan (vocals and guitar), Jay Bonafide (guitar), Bob Watson (bass and vocals) and Mark McKenna (drums), have always steered through the rocky waters of the music industry with honesty and integrity. Initially formed from the ashes of local long-running punk/ska band, Public Access, the band has always had a “do it yourself” mentality that is a hallmark to their popularity and longevity.
The Slaughterhouse Chorus’ latest effort is a stripped down production that was captured at vocalist Chris Jordan’s rural Rensselear County cabin. Each of the five tracks on …In The Name Of Progress were recorded as a live performance by the band and recorded by producer, Ryan Slowey. The EP is being released by local artist collaborative label, Built4BBQ’s, that the band helped co-found. Their first release since 2014, …In the Name of Progress will be available on 12″ vinyl and digital download.
The EP starts off strong with the fast tempo punk number “Greenplates.” Fast guitars and booming vocals by Jordan set the testosterone fueled tone for the record. With lyrics that drip with irony and disillusionment, Jordan lyrically recounts a life of toil and hard work with nothing to show for it but poverty and frustration.
The Second track off of …In The Name Of Progress, entitled “Hambone,” brings a taste of country flavor to an otherwise irreverent punk number. The tune lyrically depicts a gloriously raucous road trip to Nashville where a fresh start in life awaits… if they can just get there in one piece. The track features guitar work straight out of the Grand Ole Opry from Jay Bonafide, who deftly picks away like Roy Clark coming down off of a three day bender. “Hambone” is a fun track to listen to and features backup vocals by Built4BBQ’s fellow label-mates, John “Henry’s Rifle” Pipino and Dan Wilson (of Kimono Dragons and the Rechorduroys), adding a bit of flavor to the number.
Luckily fans of The Slaughterhouse Chorus still have a few chances seeing the local punk favorites live before they hang it up for good. They perform next at their final record release party at Albany’s Hollow Bar & Kitchen on Friday, May 31 at 8PM. They will be accompanied by musical friends Turf ‘n’ Turf, The Death Vacation, and Kimono Dragons. The Slaughterhouse Chorus will play a few more shows this year before taking their final bow sometime this fall, including the sixth annual Built4BBQ Star Spangled Bonanza July 3 at the Hangar on the Hudson, and the Divine Vibes music festival at the Beer Diviner Brewery July 19-21.
Tom Morello brought Atlas Underground Live to the infamous Irving Plaza, treating a packed house of young and old fans to his most ambitious project in years, on Wednesday, May 14 . “The Atlas Underground Tour is one-part Marshall-stack guitar-madness and one part bass-drop meltdown. The show will be an intense sonic and visual ‘less talk, more rock’ experience that’s somewhere between a crazy mosh pit, an illegal rave, a subversive art installation, and a prison riot.,” said the guitar god and social justice vanguard.
The virtuoso has taken different genres of music and blended them like never before. A new mix of EDM and his powerful tone and attitude make Tom Morello one of the top guitar players in the style. Each song was carefully selected, paired with a powerful video message depicting giant problems going on in our society.
The show touched all genres and aspects of Morello’s long illustrious career. With plenty of Rage Against the Machine Material, the set journeyed along with nods to a deep connection with his Audioslave band mate and friend, Chris Cornell, and an inspiring cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Ghost of Tom Joad.” During the final song Morello invited as many fans as could fit on stage with him; he blew the roof off the New York City venue with the Rage classic “Killing In The Name Of.” It was proof: the song’s lyrics are just as relevant now as when the song was originally released 18 years ago.
Last Pharaoh screamed out melodic power/progressive metal and neo-classical music at Orange County Choppers on Saturday night which left the crowd roaring for more. Influenced by Iron Maiden, Saxon, and Queensryche, Last Pharaoh was signed by Pure Steel Records in 2018. Their first album, “Mantle Of Spiders”, was released last year on September 21. After their ‘blowing off the roof’ rendition of “Bark at the Moon,” they treated the crowd to their soon to be released “Intruders” as their last song of the night (which will be on their new album and first single).
The four band members each bring a rocking history of their own and combine to a fantastic blend of guitar riffs and metal screams, Ron Toth on guitar, Michael James on bass, Ed Shelinsky playing drums, and Tommy Santangelo performing on vocals. They are based in the Hudson Valley, however, they will be coming to the Albany area at Chrome in Waterford, NY on May 25. Look for their music on Spotify, YouTube, Apple music, iTunes, Amazon, and of course, your local record store.
Setlist: Into the Darkness, The Headless Horseman, Jekyll and Hyde, Desert Dreams, Deadly Dreams, Machinic Non-Conscience, Slave to the Kill (The Son of Sam), Mantle of Spiders, Psychohouse, Bark at the Moon, Intruders
Pure emotion carried the crowd away
Michael JamesRon TothEd ShelinskyTommy SantangeloMichael JamesTommy SantangeloRon TothTommy Santangelo
The Albany music scene has lost a legend as musician, Nippertown founder and former Times Union music writer Greg Haymes passed away on Wednesday, April 10.
Haymes founded Nippertown, focusing on the Capital District music scene that he championed over more than 40 years as a musician, artist and writer.
Known as Sarge Blotto to his many fans, Greg was the voice behind Blotto’s 1981 hit “I Wanna be a Lifeguard,” the video of which aired on the first day of MTV.
More than a few writers and photographers at NYS Music got their start through Nippertown and Greg’s impact is a great loss for us and the Capital District music and arts scene.
It was 10 years ago this month that Saratoga Winners, one of the Capital District’s favorite live music venues, burned down in an early morning fire. This Saturday, a reunion is to be held to remember it and the people who made it special at Chrome Food and Spirits.
From the outside, Saratoga Winners wasn’t much to look at. It was a two-story roadhouse nestled between the Mohawk River and the Town of Colonie Landfill. There was no pretense surrounding the place, other than having Saratoga in its name, which was technically across the river. Nonetheless, in the years before it closed its doors in 2006, it hosted an A-list of musical acts that rivaled the more polished and refined Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
And, that’s where the comparisons end.
“I went to a ‘hardcore’ show there at the very end when they weren’t even selling alcohol anymore,” said Ali Hibbs, former Spotlight News and Metroland reporter. “The lead singer in the last band broke his ACL on stage and no one even knew he was hurt for a moment because he was already screaming!” Someone then realized the situation; the singer’s mother. Hibbs said she stopped the show and called for an ambulance, “but the kid refused to let them take him until he finished his set.”
From the inside, Winners was structured like a barn. Vaulted ceiling, and an exposed wooden frame, including pillars and support beams, reminded one radio personality of a “wagon wheel.” With an open floor layout, patrons had a good view of the band regardless of where they stood.
David Byrne, the Ramones, Melissa Etheridge, Ben Folds, the Black Crowes, Wilco and Paul Westerberg were just a few of the names of established stars and up-and-coming artists who drew crowds through the doors.
“It changed personality considerably act to act,” said Ivan Rodat, a former reporter for Metroland. A stereotypical rock venue that wasn’t pigeon-holed into an exclusive genre. He recalled seeing R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe in attendance once as Fugazi performed on stage. “Great, weird place.”
Towards the end of its lifespan, Winners became a home for punk and heavy metal music.
Jason Keller was an on-air personality for 103.5/103.9 FM The Edge. He’d take over the Albany airwaves to play classic rock and alternative music once Howard Stern was done with his syndicated broadcasts. He recalled hosting several shows at Saratoga Winners on behalf of that radio station.
The on-air host remembered Winners looking like a wooden “wagon wheel.” Despite that observation, it didn’t stop bands from using pyrotechnics onstage. Keller remembered feeling the heat of a “jet engine” ignited from the stage, as he stood across the room next to the soundboard.
“This can’t be safe,” he said, with an uneasy chuckle. Regardless, no one was hurt.
Keller is now Commercial Production and Station Imaging Director at 102.7 WEQX. You can still hear him on the air, too.
Fire
In the early morning of April 30, 2009, firefighters responded to a call at Saratoga Winners. By the time they arrived, it was engulfed in flames. The original call came in shortly after 3 a.m. The Cresent Bridge was closed for about seven hours as eight fire departments battled the blaze.
At the time of the fire, Saratoga Winners had been closed for three years. Ownership had changed hands and a new owner reportedly showed interest in returning the venue to its former glory. Authorities later determined that the fire was caused by arson. Just over a month later, the owner was indicted for arson, insurance fraud and reckless endangerment.
Reunion
Holly Stah’s memories of Saratoga Winners are more vivid than others. She worked there for eight years. First in the office, then behind the bar. It holds a special place in her heart. It’s where she met her husband, Scott.
“You could see the bands. You could dance if you wanted to,” said Stah. “All of our friends were there.”
A big music fan, Stah has collected pictures of herself standing next to Alice Cooper and Billy Sheehan, among others. She likes hard rock enough to recognize characteristics from just the band name, alone. For example, rock bands with an acronym as a name play especially loud. That was proven one night while such a band performed a sound check. Stah was standing near the stage. As the bass player started, she heard a sound from across the room.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EscxBucHIwQ
“Glasses were falling off my trays and shattering on the floor,” she said. “I couldn’t get down to the bar fast enough to stop them from falling off and shattering on the floor.
She later shared her observation of bands with acronyms to the owner. One day, the owner thanked her for the advice by sharing a decision he made. He turned down a request to have “D.I.O.” perform.
It wasn’t an acronym. The owner was referring to Ronnie James Dio and the band he formed after leaving Black Sabbath in 1982, producing rock anthems like “Holy Diver” and “Rainbow in the Dark.”
Stah was not happy.
“I thought I was going to cry,” she said, with a laugh.
Stah has spent the past year organizing a reunion for people to remember Saratoga Winners and the music that once played there. Saratoga Winners Reunion #3: The Final Chapter will feature music from Untaymed, Divine Right, Maxx Thrust, Bone Box and Enertia at Chrome Food and Spirits on Saturday, April 6, at 4 p.m.
The lineup includes bands that had played Saratoga Winners, Stah said. It will capture the spirit of the old place. Something she said she is looking forward to.
“I’m going to see people I haven’t seen in a very long time.”
This article was originally published by The Spot 518, is property of Spotlight Newspapers in Albany, N.Y., and appears as a special to NYSMusic. TheSpot518 and NYSMusic work in partnership to provide readers with in-depth coverage on the local music scene in the Capital District and New York state, respectively. For more, visit TheSpot518.com
Bass player ‘Ray’ Beatty is very straightforward when talking about his band Lullwater: “we’re a really loud rock band.” Add their love for Seattle grunge (Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden) and a “take no prisoners” rock ‘n roll stage presence – you get the DNA make up of this 4 piece band from Athens, Georgia.
Together for 10 years, Lullwater is comprised of John Strickland on rhythm guitar and lead vocals, Roy ‘Ray’ Beatty on bass and vocals, Joseph Wilson on drums and vocals; and newest member, as of two years ago, Daniel Binnie on lead guitar. I sat down with Ray and Daniel before their set at The Chance Theater in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The band was finishing up a month long, five band tour, with headliners Sevendust. It was a cold, but sunny afternoon with plenty of snow on the ground as we sat inside the band’s tour van and got down to business.
John Strickland
Mickey Deneher: You’re on month long tour with Sevendust, what’s that been feeling like?
Roy ‘Ray’ Beatty: It’s great. It’s an awesome tour to be on. It’s not just Sevendust. We have Tremonti, Cane Hill, and we got Kirra. Every band on this tour is really awesome. Not to discredit any of the bands we have been on tour with before, but as far as from start to finish, this tour lineup is just totally stacked. Almost every show has been sold out. Crowds have been really rockin’ and we get to watch the machine that is Sevendust. Not just the band, but the crew and everything. Seeing an operation on that level is inspiring. It’s like, oh; that is where we aim to be with our professionality, it’s great.
They’re like hanging out with us, allowing us to hang out with them. Sort of taking us under their wing a tiny bit. It’s a great experience all around. It’s inspiring. It’s very inspiring. You can see how bands that do this for a long time find and maintain success. Manage to do that through hard work.
Lullwater at The Chance Theatre.
With the tour winding down, the band was preparing for the release of their 3rd and most adventurous studio album, Voodoo. A recording the band calls “a bigger, more intricate and layered, digitally-recorded sound.“ Recorded in New Orleans, the band engaged Jacob Hermann (Anthrax, Machine Head, Amaranthe) to take the reigns as producer. Recorded over a year ago, the band worked hard on the required business details so it would hit the market with full impact.
2019 released ‘Voodoo’ album art.
MD: The new album is coming out, that has to be an exciting thing.
RRB: It is exciting.
MD: You’ve done a couple of studio recordings and some live stuff. Did you go in with songs written and ready, or did you just go in and feel it and make it happen?
RRB: We had the majority of the songs written. But we went in and took the first week of our studio time just looking back at all of our songs; arranging things and changing things. So it’s like we re-wrote the whole album. But we had a lot in. Like 70 to 80% kind of like rough framework were there.
But Jacob, he came in and cracked the whip a little more and made us buckle down more then we have in the past. Made us be more reflective and honest about things that we were trying to make and were the things that we wanted really suiting the song that we wanted.
Roy “Ray” Beatty – Lullwater
Joseph Wilson
MD: You say we looked back, you had them ready, but let me make sure they were there?
RRB: Well, we did maybe a month or two of just practice in our basement leading up to it. Of us, just writing all these songs and playing them. But neither of our producers were able to be there with us. So when we went down to the studio we wanted to get them in on the vibe and also get their input and just make sure everything was the best that it could be. ‘Cause we’ve done albums. Like the previous album, we really didn’t write almost anything before we went in. And that was cool too. But we just really wanted to make this one stand out.
MD: Jacob Hermann?
RRB: Jacob (reiterated with a Swedish accent)
MD: He had some great creds coming in. How was it working with him?
RRB: It was great. It was a little daunting. It was a big step up. Not to say that our other producer, Justin, isn’t also great to work with, and he is. But he kind of goes along with our vibe and we are all very collaborative. But Jacob, he came in and cracked the whip a little more and made us buckle down more then we have in the past. Made us be more reflective and honest about things that we were trying to make and were the things that we wanted really suiting the song that we wanted.
Daniel Binnie: He was extremely critical.
MD: But that’s good.
RRB: It was good.
DB: In a good way.
MD: His name is on there also. It’s a collaboration.
RRB: It is. I think people probably don’t realize, that people that don’t make music, or don’t record their music with producers; don’t realize how much of an impact that those producers have on the album; the sounds that are happening, how the sounds all fit together, a lot of the arraignments and stuff. Your always like “Hey Justin,” “Hey Jacob,” “does it sound good?” “Does it suck or not?” When I personally go into the studio I try to, you know I have all these ideas that we have and I want things to be a certain way, but unless I absolutely am worried something’s going to not turn out good, I try to just give up worrying about anything. Saying the power to veto a sound or to confirm ‘does this sound good,’ is in the producer’s control.
Roy “Ray” Beatty
MD: You (as a band) present it, you play it, you created it, but you need that extra set of ears to help you.
RRB: You defiantly do. If you don’t all do that, it gets to be a to many cooks in the kitchen kind of scenario with everyone saying, “NO, we got to do this riff,” ‘That didn’t quite work, we have to redo it.” It’s like CHAOS. In order to serve the final product, you have to remove yourself a little from it.
MD: The song “Empty Chambers” a first release. Talk a little about it.
RRB: It’s just a loud rock song. Actually, that was the first one we started writing for the album, I think. I was traveling and I had my guitar in my car and I knew that we had our studio session booked and I was kind of freak’n out because nobody had been sending in riffs. ‘Cause usually, the way our writing process works is, other people are coming up with some of the riffs and I‘ll try to arrange them and we’ll all try to arrange them and write. We write together. But for this one, I was just in my hotel drinking and I was like; man, we need songs. So I just wrote that first riff and we just kind of came together and made a song out of it.
Daniel Binnie
You can take kind of what you want from the lyrics. John (Strickland, lead vocals and rhythm guitar) doesn’t like to be super direct with explaining his lyrics in interviews, so I kind of respect that. But you listen to it; you can kind of hear what it’s all about.
Daniel Binnie: I wrote the rhythm for the chorus. Don’t for get me (laughing!)
RRB: Binnie did write the chorus of “Empty Chamber.” Totally wrote that. We took that from a song he made. So it really came together.
MD: What was it that drew you down to NOLA (to record)?
RRB: Jacob had worked in that studio and he said that was the place to go, so we said ok, we trust you.
MD: New Orleans is such a music place.
RRB: It is a music place.
MD: The vibe is a NOLA vibe. Did any of that seep in a little?
RRB: The album is called Voodoo. We where there for Halloween. (Laughing) It definitely influenced the album. It seeps through. You be able to hear it in the final product.
Lullwater
DB: Musically of course, we got some horns and strings and stuff from local musicians on the album. So you got that. As far as the vibe of the town, there is a lot of pain and suffering on that album.
RRB: There is. I feel that like that is the theme of the album overall, everything falling apart and then getting back together.
The band hit the stage at The Chance Theater to a very appreciative and packed house. With 2019 in front of them, Lullwater will be releasing an acoustic EP, containing songs from their last two albums, in late spring or summer. The band is now finalizing tour dates for the rest of the year, so look for Lullwater out on the road in support of their latest release.
After the release of the new single “All Out Life,” in advance of the release of their upcoming sixth studio album, We Are Not Your Kind, due on Aug. 9, Slipknot has announced to the NY Maggots and nation the band’s touring plans for their 2019 North American “Knotfest Roadshow” live tour.
Packing up and hitting the road with Slipknot on July 26 in California, are special guests Volbeat, Gojira, and Behemoth.
Tickets go on sale to the general public March, 8 at 10 a.m. Slipknot fan club members and Citi card holders will have access to pre-sale tickets on March 5. Each pair of tickets purchased online will come with a digital copy of the band’s new album.
Knotfest Roadshow Tour Dates:
Jul. 26 – Shoreline Amphitheatre – Mountain View, CA
Jul. 27 – San Manuel Amphitheater – San Bernardino, CA
Aug. 01 – USANA Amphitheatre – Salt Lake City, UT
Aug. 03 – Isleta Amphitheater – Albuquerque, NM Aug. 04 – Ak-Chin Pavilion – Phoenix, AZ
Aug. 06 – Pepsi Center – Denver, CO
Aug. 08 – Pinnacle Bank Arena – Lincoln, NE
Aug. 10 – Iowa State Fairgrounds – Des Moines, IA*
Aug. 11 – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – Tinley Park, IL
Aug. 12 – DTE Energy Music Theatre – Clarkson, MI
Aug. 14 – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater – Virginia Beach, VA
Aug. 16 – Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center – Noblesville, IN
Aug. 17 – Providence Medical Center Amphitheater – Bonner Springs, KS
Aug. 18 – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – Maryland Heights, MO
Aug. 20 – Budweiser Stage – Toronto, ON Aug. 21 – Saratoga Performing Arts Center – Saratoga Springs, NY
Aug. 23 – KeyBank Pavilion – Burgettstown, PA
Aug. 24 – The Pavilion at Montage Mountain – Scranton, PA Aug. 25 – Darien Lake Amphitheater – Darian Center, NY
Aug. 27 – The Xfinity Center – Mansfield, MA Aug. 28 – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater – Wantagh, NY
Aug. 30 – PNC Bank Arts Center – Holmdel, NJ
Aug. 31 – BB&T Pavilion – Camden, NJ
Sep. 01 – Jiffy Lube Live Amphitheatre – Bristow, VA
Sep. 04 – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre – Tampa, FL
Sep. 06 – Austin360 Amphitheater at Circuit of The Americas – Austin, TX
Sep. 07 – Dos Equis Pavilion – Dallas, TX
Sep. 08 – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion – The Woodlands, TX
Packing up and hitting the road with Slipknot on July 26 in California, are special guests Volbeat, Gojira, and Behemoth.