Umphrey’s McGee played the second night of a three night run at Brooklyn Steel Friday February, 15. The Jam Veterans moved in an out of their eclectic catalog with crowd favorite “Red Tape” and “Wife Soup.” A highlight from the show was an amazing cover of the Little Feat classic, “Fat Man in The Bathtub” with a guest hot section of Mike Maher (Snarky Puppy), Chris Ott & Dan White (Huntertones). Fans are looking forward to see what Umphrey’s brings for their final night of this Brooklyn Steel Run.
For the first time ever Father John Misty and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit will be co-headlining a national tour that will run throughout the month of June. The tour will begin June 5 in San Diego and end in Tulsa, OK on June 29. The tour makes stops in New York at Celebrate Brooklyn! on June 19 and at CMAC in Canandaigua on June 20
Father John Misty is currently supporting his acclaimed 2018 release God’s Favorite Customer. While four time Grammy award winner, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit is touring in support of their album The Nashville Sound. Joining the tour will be Jade Bird, June 6-25 and Erin Rae, June 27- June 29.
Pre-sale tickets begin Wednesday Feb. 13 at 10 a.m. (local), with general public tickets going on sale Friday Feb. 15.
June 6 – Cal Coast
Credit Union Amphitheater*- San Diego, CA
June 7 – Santa Barbara Bowl*- Santa Barbara, CA
June 8 – Greek Theatre*- Berkeley, CA
June 9 – Les Schwab Amphitheater* – Bend, OR
June 11 – Marymoor Park Concerts* – Redmond, WA
June 14– The Armory* – Minneapolis, MN
June 15 – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island* – Chicago,
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Galactic brought their deliciously funky Already Ready Already Tour of NOLA Funk to Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn, NY on Saturday, February 9 to promote their new album with the same title. The New Orleans-based group is one of the original jam bands from the mid-nineties. Their style is often described as a fusion of rock, funk, jazz, hip hop, r&b and electronica, and has evolved over time.
They often tour with a talented vocalist, and Erica Falls is no exception. The native New Orleans singer has a style that is rooted in vintage soul, channeling an earlier era. Erica reminders her fans that, “Vintage soul is not about bringing the listener back to a time of authentic music, it’s about reminding them that it never went anywhere.”
In addition to Erica Falls, Galactic brought their funky NOLA friends The Motet to open the show. The Motet released an album last month titled Death or Devotion as well. Singer Lyle Divinsky raised the band’s energy even higher with his exceptional stage presence at Brooklyn Steel, and got the crowd ready for Galactic.
At set break, the High and Mighty Brass Band entertained fans with marching band renditions of TLC favorites like “Waterfalls” and “Creep.” The High and Mighty Brass Band is still currently on tour opening for Galactic.
After the serendipitous first set and set break music, Galactic and Erica Falls took the stage with a bayou-flavored vigor that only Louisiana natives can possess. They played several tunes off of their new album, including “Ready Already,” “Clap Your Hands,” “Going Straight Crazy,” “Touch Get Cut,” and “Everlasting Light.” Ms. Falls lit up the stage with her dynamic and authentic vocals. Galactic showed their incredible improvisational skill with everything from saucy sax solos to funky guitar solos.
The High and Mighty Brass Band joined Galactic on stage again during the encore for “Buckit Like a Horse,” raising the level of funk just one more time.
Setlist
Ready Already* Higher and Higher* Heart Of Steel* Clap Your Hands* Fabuloso Going Straight Crazy* Hey Na Na* You Don’t Know* Doomed>Tiger Roll>Touch Get Cut* Coolin Off Medley Everlasting Light* Right On* Big Whiskers Tuff Love Dolla Diva* Buckit Like A Horse** Never Called You Crazy*
Boston ambassadors of funk, Ripe stopped by Brooklyn Steel on February 8, checking off another sold-out night on their winter 2019 tour. Be sure to check out this seven piece groove-machine as they grow, pushing their music to new heights.
On a cold and rainy Wednesday night, the Los Angles based band, Dawes brought An Evening With Dawes: Passwords Tour to the The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y. The weather didn’t damper those in attendance, as the band took a full house on a journey through its catalog of songs. The band opened the show with “Living in the Future,” from their most recent release Passwords. Throughout the night Taylor Goldsmith roamed the stage engaging his band mates and the audience. By the end of the night, all were one. The band played two sets, finishing the night with “All Your Favorite Bands” from All Your Favorite Bands.
Set 1: Living in the Future, If I Wanted Someone, Right on Time, Quitter, Never Gonna Say Goodbye, Things Happen, Just Beneath the Surface, Now That It’s Too Late, Maria, Time Spent In Los Angele, Feed the Fire, A Little Bit Of Everything.
Set 2: None of My Business, My Greatest Invention, My Way Back Home, From A Window Seat, Picture Of A Man, Coming Back To A Man, Don’t Send Me Away, Most People, Crack the Case, Roll With The Punches, When My Time Comes, All Your Favorite Bands.
BRIC House Sessions is back for another year with its Thursday night concert series. BRIC House has featured world-class artists that reflect the diversity within Brooklyn. Celebrating 40 years of pioneering the arts and media in NYC as well as one of the leading presenters free cultural programming in Brooklyn. The BRIC organization presents and incubates work by artists and media-makers that reflects New York’s diversity and reaches hundreds of thousands of people each year.
With BRIC House being its main venue, it houses a public media center, a major contemporary art exhibition space, two performance spaces, a glass walled TV studio and work spaces for artists. It also is the space for the Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival in Prospect Park and has BRIC TV, radio and Brooklyn Free Speech media. It’s lead sponsor and supporter is the innovative entertainment and retail destination company City Point, which is 1.8 million square feet of retail, residential, office and entertainment complex at the epicenter of Downtown Brooklyn.
So far this year headlining artists Son Little with special guest singer-songwriter Melissa Laveaux and guitarist Christopher Paul Stelling performing in Fort Greene on Feb. 28. Then on March 7 they have the Electro Arabic act 47SOUL who party with a message, with the female fronted, neo-beat deconstructionist Underground System to open. You can check out other artists performing on their website. Tickets can be purchased online at BRICartsmedia.org.
AJ Lambert, granddaughter of Frank Sinatra and daughter of Nancy Sinatra, recently debuted the video for “Cleo,” a cover by artist John Cale. The track appears on her first full length solo album, Careful You, which was released earlier this month.
Careful You is an album of unique, poignant interpretations of songs by artists including Spoon and TV on the Radio, as well as some of her grandfather’s deep cuts such as “Sleep Warm” and “I’ll Be Seeing You.” The album was recorded with a full band and produced by Daniel Schlett (The War on Drugs, Amen Dunes) and Boshra AlSaadi (TEEN, Janka Nabay). AJ will tour in support of the release, with a full band featuring musicians from the album, such as drummer Parker Kindred (who also plays with Joan As Policewoman) and bassist Josh Werner (who recently collaborated on a release with Bill Laswell).
Speaking about the video for “Cleo,” Lambert said, “I just thought it would be fun to really play up the pop elements of the song in a new version… to me, it’s lyrically keeping with the theme of the record – namely thinking that love will save the day and then reckoning what happens, when it gets more complicated than that. Hence the ‘always a bridesmaid’ theme of the video, too.”
Last year, she released Lonely Songs, a collaborative EP with Greg Ahee of Protomartyr, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of her grandfather’s seminal album, Only the Lonely. In AJ’s words: “These songs let me say thank you to Frank. I’m so honored to carry on a bit of this tradition of being a song interpreter and it’s so much fun to do it in a modern way… I believe that good music is good music, no matter what era it’s from… Greg was a big fan of the album already so it was fun to collaborate.”
AJ Lambert has worked as a film music supervisor and bassist in various bands (including Here We Go Magic and a reunion of seminal punk icons, The Homosexuals). As a solo vocalist, she performs two complete Sinatra albums live – In The Wee Small Hours and Only the Lonely – with John Boswell on piano, at small clubs and theaters around the country. AJ also hosts “Third Generation” on Sirius XM’s “Siriusly Sinatra” channel and regularly performs at private and charity events. Whether performing with a pianist, a full band or on record, AJ Lambert’s style and interpretations of both standards and contemporary music alike are truly her own.
Black Suit Youth has played sold-out theaters with bands such as Story of the Year and Alien Ant Farm, and their newest CD was recorded in Atlanta by Peter Catalano, and listeners will immediately hear that “False South” is a terrific, high-energy rock album.
“False South” features blistering lead guitar work from Long Island’s Fed Canelos, heavy bottom end bass from Long Island’s Juan Orellana, hard hitting drums from New York City’s Robert Abrams, and rhythm guitar and lead vocals from Bryan Maher. Black Suit Youth plays an upbeat blend of hard rock, alternative, punk, and indie with an eye for arrangement and hooks.
Black Suit Youth formed in 2004, however this line-up is a rebirth of the band and has been together for about two years.
According to the band, their goal is to spread their music to as many rock fans as possible, whether it’s on stage in front of a thousand people or in smaller venues, one person at a time. You can catch Black Suit Youth live this month January 24th at Amityville Music Hall and January 26th at The Cobra Club in Brooklyn.
Check out their Facebook page and Bandcamp and look for additional Tri-State Area shows this winter as well as an East Coast/Midwest Tour in the spring.
Rochester/Brooklyn band Maybird will soon be launching their second release on 30th Century Records. The first song off the recording, “Don’t Keep Me Around,” is indicative of the unique sound the band has crafted over the past six years – an amalgamation of indie and roots rock, filtered through a psychedelic veil. The four-piece band consists of singer/songwriter Josh Netsky, guitarists Kurt Johnson and Sam Snyder (aka Overhand Sam), and drummer Adam Netsky. NYS Music checked in with Maybird’s frontman to get the scoop on the inspirations and collaborations behind the new work.
Photo by Teagan West
Paula Cummings: You have a new song out called “Don’t Keep Me Around.” What is the story behind the song? Why did you choose to lead with this one?
Josh Netsky: We’ve been playing “Don’t Keep Me Around” live for well over a year now, so our fans are familiar with it and it’s just been waiting to be heard for a long time. We haven’t really explored many of the other songs on the record in a live setting yet, so it felt right to set this one free first. I wrote this song very quickly during a spontaneous recording session with producer Sam Cohen. Quickly in comparison to my usual writing process, at least. Quick songs are usually better in my experience… if you don’t have to think too much about it, that’s a good sign.
PC: Your songwriting has always been influenced by your own personal experiences. What people, places, or events lit the spark that led to the creation of your new songs?
JN: Some of the songs go pretty far back – I think the oldest track was written in 2012. So there are a lot of very different answers here from years of experiences and inspirations. But the overall arc of the album deals with a few main themes. Seeking purpose and clinging to memories/trying not to forget are the big ones. Kurt Vonnegut’s novel The Sirens of Titan was a huge inspiration for the album and put these ideas into perspective for me in the first place.
PC: Who did you work with on the album, and how did these industry professionals shape your work?
JN: For “Don’t Keep Me Around,” we worked a lot with Sam Cohen, who’s an amazing producer and our label-mate on 30th Century Records. He also mixed our entire album. Aside from that, we did most of the work ourselves independently. We all have small studio setups of our own, mostly we worked out of a studio that Sam and Kurt had set up in Ontario, NY. A few of our Rochester comrades put down some horn parts and extra instrumentation.
PC: Can you share any details about the new album?
JN: We’re looking at a late spring release, the date will be announced soon I’m sure. But we will be releasing singles up to that point, so there will be a constant flow of music from here forth. Plus we’ve got some videos and other material that we’re psyched to share alongside the tracks.
PC: Maybird’s Spotify playlist contains some great indie music. Which bands or musicians spur you forward by setting a benchmark that you’re striving to reach?
JN: I love having a Spotify playlist and updating it frequently. That’s exactly what it does, keeps inspiration flowing. We call it Maybird Mixtape. The whole thing started with an actual physical mixtape. We used to dub a bunch of tapes and give them to fans at shows to share what we were listening to. Spotify is obviously a lot easier to manage, but we still make the physical tapes every once in a while. I have a very open ear and use Shazam all the time. If I hear something that I would like to examine closer for whatever reason, whether it’s at a restaurant, in a store, on the radio or whatever… always Shazaming. A lot of what ends up on Maybird Mixtape is from that. I found this band Billy & Dolly that way, for example, and their album ended up being one of my favorites of 2018. Excellent songwriting and production. That’s really the only benchmark – to keep pushing forward in the writing and production… Cass Mccombs, Deerhunter, Daniel Ramano, Kendrick Lamar, Tame Impala, The Voidz, Danger Mouse, Wilco, Sly & The Family Stone are a few regulars on the mixtape. It’s all over the place, it’s all just really good. I think our sound is all over the place as well, and that’s the way we like it.
Check out Maybird’s new song over on Flaunt magazine. And be sure to follow Maybird on Facebook,Twitter, and Instagram to catch their latest music and videos and find out about upcoming shows.
Josie Bello has a Country-Rock vocal style, combined with the skillful musicianship evident throughout the CD, have prompted a number of listeners on ReverbNation to ask the question, “Were these recordings done in Nashville?”
The album was, in fact, produced and recorded on Long Island at Melts In Your Ears Studio and mixed at Workshoppe East, both located in Huntington.
Can’t Go Home contains 10 tracks of original music in which Josie covers a wide range of subjects related to the human condition. The title track contemplates the loss of one’s past. Other tracks cover themes such as infidelity (“Dignity”), infatuation (“Crush”), relationships (“Good People,” “Bad Love”), drug addiction (“Mother’s Love”), Long Island living (“Kit House”) and even political partisanship (“Two Trains”), co-written by producer Mike Nugent and the only co-write on the album.
The very active live music scene on Long Island, and the abundance of local talent continues to inspire Josie as a songwriter and performer.
Josie enjoys creating images and telling stories through song and often says, “Hooks are everywhere, you just need to listen”.
She’ll tell you that she’s been singing every day of her life — around the house and everywhere she’s been since childhood. She can remember her mother saying to her, “Please, try to pipe down, just for a little while”.
Luckily for local musicinans, Josie is quite active on the Long Island music scene. She runs several open mics: at Urban Coffee in Greenlawn on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of the month and at the Park Lounge in Kings Park on 3rd Fridays.
Additionally, once a month she hosts a singer-songwriter night at Urban Coffee. Josie performs with her husband Frank Bello as “Duo Bello” at many festivals throughout the island, including their annual hosting of the Long Island Fall Festival Acoustic Stage. She is honored to participate in the LI-based group OOMPA (Organization of Open Mic Performing Artists) and recognizes all the talent and support their membership provides to open mics and musical charitable events throughout the Island.
Josie’s music is available on most digital distribution platforms such as iTunes and CD Baby. A hard copy of the CD can also be purchased at CD Baby.
