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Hilltop set to release debut album this weekend

Hilltop, a 5-piece band from Albany that features a blend of rock with funk, jazz, blues and bluegrass mixed in, is set to release their self-titled debut album on Friday, February 8.

The band combines original music, diverse covers, and improvisation to create a unique listening experience. The band includes Aris Nieuwkerk (guitar, vocals), George Scherck (keyboards, vocals), David Klang (bass, guitar, vocals), Stephen Perry (drums, percussion, vocals), and Reid Perry (drums, percussion, vocals) who have collective influences of The Grateful Dead, Phish and Miles Davis. All these artists feature many different styles over the span of their careers, and this is what has shaped Hilltop’s sound and how to incorporate various styles into their songs – there is not just one sound or style that defines Hilltop.

Hilltop was tracked at recording studios at the two colleges band members attend – Schenectady County Community College and Mercy College in Westchester. Mixing was completed at Mercy College and the album was mastered on Long Island at MEI Studios, where David is an engineer. The songs on the album had already been performed live numerous times, with David noting, “This made it easy to get a natural feel for our songs in the studio, giving the listener an accurate representation of what the band sounds like live.”
<a href="http://hilltopny.bandcamp.com/album/the-low-beat-3-14-18">The Low Beat 3/14/18 by Hilltop</a>
This summer, Hilltop plans to hit the festival circuit in New York and the Northeast, and looks forward to building their following so they can spread out beyond the confines of the Northeast. The band knows this is a long journey and is dialed in for just that. “We know it often takes decades for a band to become seriously established outside of a small niche, and I think we’re all preparing ourselves to keep moving forward with Hilltop on a long term basis. We’ll see where it can take us if we can keep it going for a while!” said Klang.

The band’s single off Hilltop, “Driftwood” was released on January 18 and a multi-cam studio video of the single was recently released on YouTube.

Hilltop’s self-titled debut album drops on Friday, February 8 and will be available on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Bandcamp and Google Play.

To celebrate the release of Hilltop, a release party will be held on Saturday, February 9 at Parish Public House in Albany. Doors open at 8pm with Glass Pony opening the night at 9pm. Cover charge is $10.

February 7, 2019
Mike Gantzer, Kris Myers and Ryan Stasik drop DOOKIE

Albany was certainly the place to be Friday, February 1. The Palace Theater hosted Umphrey’s McGee for another always-astounding performance, and the Pearl Street Pub threw a legendary after-show. Once the UM show concluded at The Palace, drummer Kris Myers and bassist Ryan Stasik made their way down the block to meet up with Aqueous guitarist Mike Gantzer. The three collaborated on an energetic, punk-rock tribute to Green Day‘s 1994 album Dookie that took the Pearl Street Pub’s crowd on a high-speed cruise down memory lane.

The trio took the stage with attendees anxious to take it all in. Set one blasted off with “Burnout,” “Having a Blast” and “Chump.” Stasik then dropped into the signature bass line of “Longview,” bringing about a crowd sing-a-long. One highlight of the night was a set of three Ween covers. In between Green Day hits “Longview” and “Welcome to Paradise,” the guys played Ween’s “The Grobe,” “It’s Gonna Be a Long Night,” and “Transdermal Celebration.” The set continued with Dookie tracks in sequential order, mixing in genre-relevant covers from Nirvana, The Ramones and Weezer. Craftily weaving in a tease that was also featured at the UM show earlier, “Norwegian Wood” (The Beatles) was heard throughout “In The End.” The end of the evening featured an epic trio of songs including “Brain Stew,” “Geek Stink Breath,” the first single from Green Day’s album Insomniac, and “Bad Mouth,” a Fugazi cover.

This date marked the 25th Anniversary of the release of Dookie, making the performance a celebratory collaboration. Mike Gantzer, Kris Myers and Ryan Stasik have performed full covers of the Green Day album on two other occasions: once as a late night tribute set at Summer Camp Music Festival 5/26/17 and again at Brooklyn Comes alive on 9/24/17.

(Unofficial Setlist)

Burnout, Having a Blast, Chump > Longview, The Grobe (1), It’s Gonna Be a Long Night (1), Transdermal Celebration (1), Welcome to Paradise, Pulling Teeth > Basket Case, She, Drain You (2), Sassafras Roots, When I Come Around, Coming Clean, I Wanna Be Sedated (3) > Blietzkreig Bop (3), Emenius Sleepus, In The End (4) > F. O. D. > All By Myself, My Name Is Jonas (5), Say It Ain’t So (5), Undone – The Sweater Song (5), Brain Stew

Encore: Geek Stink Breath, Bad Mouth (6)

1- Ween cover
2- Nirvana cover
3- The Ramones cover
4- Norwegian Wood (The Beatles) tease
5- Weezer cover
6- Fugazi Cover

February 6, 2019
2019 SAMMY Hall of Fame Class and Nominees Announced, Lou Reed to Receive Posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award

The Syracuse Area Music Awards has announced its new class of inductees for the SAMMY Hall of Fame as well as nominees among 13 categories for the 2019 SAMMY Awards.

Lou Reed

The 2019 inductees include ’50s doo-wop band, Little Jan and the Radiants; 95X radio personality and host of the weekly radio program “Locals Only,” Scott Dixon; long-running independent acoustic duo, Karen Savoca and Pete Heitzman; and highly influential drummer and music store owner, Al Falso.

Scott Dixon

The SAMMYS will also posthumously honor Syracuse University alumnus, Lou Reed with the Lifetime Achievement Award and internationally acclaimed trombonist, Melissa Gardiner as Educator of the Year.

Other honorees this year are well-known street musician, Elijah Harris, Jr., with the Founders Award and a brand new award named in honor of its inaugural recipient, Jack O Bocchino, the Jack O Bocchino Spirit of Syracuse Award.

Jack O Bocchino

Now in its 26th year, the Syracuse Area Music Awards seeks to honor musicians, educators, industry professionals and supporters of the Central New York Music scene. This year’s Hall of Fame dinner and awards ceremony will take place March 7 and 8. The Hall of Fame dinner will be held upstairs at the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que on Willow Street while the awards will be presented at Eastwood’s Palace Theater.

Performers at the awards ceremony include a Lou Reed tribute band that features Stuart Heinrich and Ellard “Moose” Bolles of Reed’s late ’70s-early ’80s backing band. Also performing are 2019 inductees, Karen Savoca and Pete Heitzman, past SAMMY recipient, R&B band Stroke, 2018 Best Jamband winner, Barroom Philosophers and Sean McLeod with 2017 Best R&B winner Alani Skye.

Tickets for the Hall of Fame dinner and the awards ceremony are available through the SAMMYS website. Tickets for the dinner are $25 and tickets for the ceremony are $20. The dinner will run from 7:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 7. The awards ceremony begins at 7:00 p.m.

NewsChannel 9 WSYR’s morning show, Bridge Street is hosting the SAMMY Spotlight Series each Thursday at 10:00 a.m. through March 7. Artists featured on the program include:

Feb 7- Late Earth

Feb 14 – Sera Bullis

Feb 21 – Infinity

Feb 28 – Fritz’s Polka Band

Mar 7 – Bad Mama’s Blues Band

The 2019 SAMMY nominees:

Best Pop

Screen Test, Through the Past Brightly

Forgottensong, Forgottensong Vol 1 and 2

Emma Jude, Pocket Full of Postcards

Best Hip Hop/Rap

G-Netics, Elevated

Big Nate MG, No Hooks Needed x Hook Line

J. R. Lottary, Instant Win

Chris Mac, Go For Broke Project

MLA, Salute Me

Best Americana

Joe Davoli, Golden Rule

Eileen Nicholson Kalfass, Crossing Bridges

Ghost Town Ramblers, Ghost Town Ramblers

Dennis McGuire’s One Man Band, Old Songs Rusty Strings

Best Alternative

Townhouse Warrior, Words, Unsaid

The Amazing Shakes, 10x The Crash

Strange To Look At, Strange To Look At

The Beuchesnes, Twilight Interstate

Late Earth, Late Earth

Sympathy, For Everyone to See

Best Rock

Jukin’ Bone, Unfinished Business

Atkins Riot, Atkins Riot “Iguanas”

Tony Touris, Ghost Town

Climbing Stars, Ascension

The Trend, J Marc Memorial Show

Best Hard Rock

One Step From Falling, Stuck

Amerikan Primitive, Down to the Devil

The Last Divide, The Last Divide

Between Hope & Fear, Between Hope & Fear

Damon Larus, Crusade

Best Other Style

Emedin Rivera, Tropical Tubulence

Samba Laranja: The SU Brazilian Ensemble, Gurana′

Fritz’s Polka Band, Hey!

Best Jam Band

Mike Davis and the Laughing Budda Episodes, Find Yourself – › Caterpillar

Ginbucket, On Ice

Count Blastula, Jive Honey

Sundrop Rise, Family Tree

The Lightkeepers, Talking Man’s Blues

Best Singer/Songwriter

Sydney Irving, The Halfmoon Sessions

Jess Novak, Fear is the Cage. Love is the Key.

Darryl Rahn, Making Strangers

Rhiannon Payne, Folklore

Stephen Douglas Wolfe, Quixotic Symphony

Best Blues

Neil Minet & the Night Flyers, Shades of Blue

Tas Cru, Memphis Song

Steven D Odum, Steve Odum Plays His Blues

Ron Spencer Band, Into the Blue

Cloutier, Thunder N Lightning

Best R & B

The Ripcords, Live at Subcat Studios

Irv Lyons, Jr., Sisters & Brothers

Jaquiel THEVOICE, The Natural Project

Apollo XXIII, Borderline

Best Country

Follow the Muse, American Days

Lonnie Park, Stories of the Lost and Found

Steven Cali, American Farmer

The Moonshine River Band, Bad Habit

Best Jazz

Bob Holz, Silverthorne

Byron ‘Kidd’ Cage, Platinum Healing Glove

February 6, 2019
Umphrey’s McGee Heats Up Albany Fans Amidst Polar Vortex

In the midst of a polar vortex, fans of Umphrey’s McGee fought through the frigid cold to see the band take to the historic Palace Theatre stage in Albany. This is the group’s fourth performance at the Palace over the past five years, seemingly solidifying it as a staple tour stop in the northeast. Opening up the night, they had Robert Walter’s 20th Congress, featuring John Kimock and Scott Metzger.

photo by Dave Decrescente

The first set kicked off with the heavy rocker “Domino Theory,” off 2011’s Death by Stereo, setting the mood for the night with its driving metal sound. Following a type 1 jam, the group played “Got Your Milk (Right Here),” another rocking tune that hadn’t been played since the group’s Red Rocks run. Robert Walter joined the group for “Whistle Kids” from Umphrey’s recent 2018 release it’s not us. Walter took over keyboardist Joel Cummins’ Fender Rhodes for the song and led the group through the ensuing jam with Cummins by his side on the Hammond organ, raising the somewhat downtempo feel of the song into a short, but sweet prog jam. “The Linear” followed, continuing that progginess and going into the first real jam of the set, heavily featuring guitarists Brendan Bayliss and Jake Cinninger working with each other to create atmosphere and bring the song into “White Man’s Moccasins,” a jazzy tune that let Cinninger show off his chops a bit.

photo by Dave Decrescente

“Resolution” came next, raising the tempo immensely with its uplifting sound, and leading the group into a full band tease of The Beatles’ classic “Norwegian Wood.” The jam in “Resolution” was very spacey and electronic, creating a similar feel to what they did with “The Linear” earlier in the set but adding in the electronic drum kit from drummer Kris Meyers. Myers and percussionist Andy Farag took a mini drum jam before the group brought “Resolution” into “Upward,” a bluesy ballad by Bayliss that took the energy from “Resolution” and transformed it into the peak of the segment. To close out the set, Bayliss welcomed moe. drummer Vinnie Amico to the stage for a cover of ZZ Top’s “Cheap Sunglasses,” a classic by the Texas hard rock trio.

photo by Dave Decrescente

The second set was the highlight of the night, starting off with the prog metal masterpiece “Miss Tinkle’s Overture,” which really shows how all 6 members are a well oiled machine when they need to get down and technical. “Miss Tinkle’s” led the group into a dub reggae-esque jam once they had played through the composed sections before Cinninger brought the jam back into a metal sound for the “peak” of the jam. “Walletsworth” followed, continuing the heavy sound from “Miss Tinkle’s,” but not featuring any real jam besides Cummins taking a piano solo before the last chorus. “Waiting Room” kept the heaviness going, with its driving bassline and anthemic lyrics really getting the crowd raging for its brief performance.

photo by Dave Decrescente

To kick off the best segment of the set, the band started into the familiar opening chords of “1348,” which is always a welcome sound at an Umphrey’s show. The jam in “1348” was really interesting, the group mixed a dance sound with funky guitar riffing and really kept the groove driving until they suddenly broke into “Eat,” which was just heavy guitar riffage front to back. “Maybe Someday” came next, riding the wave of heaviness from “1348” > “Eat” and launching into a heavy metal jam that wove in and out of the composed sections of the song. Ending out the set was “The Floor” back into “1348,” completing the song from earlier in the set. “The Floor” is an incredible song to see live, it’s very dramatic and Middle Eastern-sounding at points, but also brings forth some of the group’s heaviest breakdowns.

This version of the song didn’t feature any jamming, but was a super tight version of the song and provided the perfect launchpad for dropping back into “1348.” The second half of “1348” was a culmination of all the energy they’d been building up throughout the second set, exploding into one last super heavy runaround of the main riff before ending the set. For the encore, the group sandwiched “Soul Food I” between two halves of “Puppet String.” The group seamlessly dropped out of the composed section of “Puppet String” into “Soul Food I,” performed the song, and then bassist Ryan Stasik dropped back into the “Puppet String” bassline and the rest of the band followed suit.

Umphrey’s McGee performed a heater of a show on Friday night in Albany, check out the photo gallery below for a taste of what the night looked like. Check back with NYS Music for coverage of the Dookie aftershow.

February 6, 2019
2019 BRIC House Sessions

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.

February 6, 2019
No Sheet Music Here: The Disco Biscuits Play Three Huge Nights At The Capitol Theatre 2019

“Just so you know, we don’t read sheet music. For all those accusing us online of reading sheet music, how dare you!” So said bassist Marc Brownstein in good humor as he addressed The Capitol Theatre crowd on the second night of The Disco Biscuits’ magnificent three-night run at the Port Chester rock palace this weekend. The sentiment would immediately ring with an air of respect, as the jamtronica four piece went on to deliver a tremendous second show, the midpoint in a very all-around strong weekend of shows. Bustouts, new improvisational territory, and new instruments served as the fueling components of a successful, satisfying Disco Biscuits 2019 Port Chester run.

Friday night, it was clear the band were not here to joke around at the mighty Capitol Theatre. Well, there was a lot of joking around across all three days, but musically speaking, no joking around at all. A four song first set, which included “Vassillios,” “Orch Theme,” “Lunar Pursuit” and “Sweating Bullets” rewarded the diehards making it out for night one with lots of grooving stringed together a la some vintage patient jamming. The Disco Biscuits were really among the first in that “patient” style jamming—that would go on to influence the likes of Lotus, The New Deal, and so forth—which sees the band lock into steady, comfortable grooves and slowly alter things via the careful, improvisational contributions of all members involved.

Night one’s set two gave a better inclination as to some of the incredible playing that was waiting throughout the rest of the weekend. An inspired kickoff on the old school tune “Bernstein and Chasnoff” sandwiched a very cool inverted version of “Aquatic Ape,” and an unfinished “Spectacle” bled beautifully into a textbook “Basis For a Day” to close it all out.

Friday night the momentum of everything from the musicians to the crowd increased a good tenfold. The show opening “Little Lai” was a welcome party starter and quickly worked its way into a cool, murky stretch of improv before picking up speed and landing at one of the first true musical gems of the Cap weekend—a performance of the Sam Altman-penned song, “Onamae Wa.” This was a bustout for The Biscuits, having not played the tune since October of 2015, a gap of over one hundred shows.

But the biggest talk going around Friday night, and really this entire weekend, was of course guitarist Jon Gutwillig bringing out and performing on a new guitar, a shiny Languedoc. There have been rumors about where this mystery instrument had come from, but the confirmed word seems to be that it was a handoff from a close friend of Barber’s. Barber would switch between this and his other guitars through the rest of Friday and Saturday, to sublime results.

“King of the World” on night two’s second set brought one of the best bliss-type jams of Friday, a several minute stretch of slowly rising power rock propelled by bright chords and synchronicity between all four members. By the time the song reached “We Like To Party,” the band had procured a truly inspiring level of intensity, one that was reciprocated beautifully from their prototypical freewheeling audience. When it comes to matching the spirit of their favorite band, Biscuits fans are hard pressed to be rivaled for their enthusiasm.

All that recoiled energy had to release somewhere and The Biscuits channeled it outward through a fine funk improv session on “Caterpillar.” Consequently, the segue into “Bombs” went off without a hitch and by the end of the song, that ebb and flow of energy was ready to shoot a hole through the ceiling of The Capitol Theatre.

Word around The Cap was that Saturday would be the most musically satisfying of all three shows, and when fans know it, they know it. The band busted the concluding Cap show wide open with a mega Grateful Dead tribute: “Help On The Way,” “Slipknot” and “Franklin’s Tower” all delivered in full. “Help” and “Slip” were last performed by The Biscuits in the middle of 2015 and now assured this weekend of multiple rare bustouts. But it was the transition from “Franklin’s” into the Biscuits original “Spraypaint,” dynamic, directional and full of the momentum procured over the last two days, that set night three off to a running start.

“Shem-Rah-Boo” gave Saturday’s first set both a dose of dance funk and a headfirst spiral into that classic Bisco brand of dark trance. But then, just as soon, “Cyclone” shifted light to dark and featured beautiful moments of interplay between Gutwillig and keyboardist Aron Magner. A volcanic, dopamine-inducing return into “Spraypaint” solidified this set as one of the most bombastic of the entire run.

Two more jam-packed sandwiches structured the final set of the weekend, starting off with a “Voices Insane” packing a huge “Shelby Rose” within. Shelby, which was inverted, rocked in confident style between brighter chord jamming and that darker trace, making this a unique version for sure.

Another super cool moment, in a weekend of cool moments, came in the second sandwich, with the band teasing their return out of “Miracles” into an ending on “Little Shimmy In A Conga Line.” Across a span of several minutes, the band peaked a few times, playing with the notion as to whether they would close with Shimmy or just take Miracles all the way for a set finish. It might have thrown a number of people off, and it just helped to again reinforce how architectural this band can be with their musical decisions, in which the combination of technical ability and creative risk-taking can produce wonderous results. Reading sheet music? No way.

After a legendary 2018-19 NYE run, a highly praised two-night stand in Washington DC, and then this terrific Capitol Theatre run, it might be fair to say that The Disco Biscuits have earned a moment of time off. Their next performance dates are scheduled for April 26 and 27 at The Fillmore in New Orleans, smack dab in the middle of the musical madness that will be Jazzfest 2019.

Setlists

January 31, 2019

Set 1: Vassillios, Orch Theme, Lunar Pursuit, Sweating Bullets

Set 2: Bernstein And Chasnoff > Aquatic Ape¹ > Bernstein And Chasnoff, Spy, Spectacle², Basis For A Day

Encore: World Is Spinning

1 inverted version
2 unfinished

February 1, 2019

Set 1: Little Lai¹, Onamae Wa², Little Betty Boop³, Spaga⁴ > Abraxas⁵ > Spaga

Set 2: King Of The World^1,3, We Like To Party¹, Shadow⁶, Caterpillar, Bombs, Caterpillar

Encore: Home Again

1 unfinished
2 last played 10/30/15 (118 shows)
3 with ‘Changes’ jam (new work in progress)
4 with ‘The Stranger’ (Billy Joel) tease in intro
5 inverted version
6 last played 7/16/15 (124 shows)

February 2, 2019

Set 1: Help On The Way¹, Slipknot!¹, Franklin’s Tower^2,3, Spraypaint, Sound One, Shem-Rah Boo^2,4, Cyclone, Spraypaint

Set 2: Voices Insane, Shelby Rose⁵, Voices Insane, Little Shimmy In A Conga Line, Humuhumunukunukuapua’a², Miracles², Little Shimmy In A Conga Line

Encore: Helicopters

1 last played 7/17/15 (124 shows)
2 unfinished
3 last played 4/17/15 (131 shows)
4 with ‘Billie Jean’ (Michael Jackson) teases and ‘Changes’ jam
5 inverted version

February 5, 2019
Idan Raichel Releases New Album, Dates

Sixteen years after his Ethiopian, global pop blend “Bo’ee” jump started his career, Israeli artist Idan Raichel has released an album entitled And If You Will Come To Me. The collaboration represents Raichel’s newest phase in personal growth following a period of intimate performances either solo or in collaboration with a small ensemble.

Promising to be the most impactful project of his career, the album includes special guests from Japan, Bulgaria, Ethiopia, Cuba and India. The album also features songs with African guitarist Bombino, Grammy nominee Danay Suarez, Israeli stars Berry Sakharof and Zehava Ben, and a new studio track reunited with his roots, the Idan Raichel Project.

“Ve’Eem Tavo’ee Elay,” the title track, in Hebrew, on And If You Will Come To Me, rapidly became one of Raichel’s most successful songs in Israel. Over 20 million streams have been recorded on YouTube alone, and the singles from the album have nearly 40 million plays.

Over the years, Idan has become an ambassador representing a world of hope in which artistic collaboration breaks down barriers between people of different backgrounds and beliefs.

Raichel will be supporting his album release with four arena shows in Tel Aviv followed by a lengthy international tour.

TOUR DATES AND VENUES:

Feb. 18- Kesselhaus – Berlin, DE
March 1- Blue Note – Milan, IT
March 2- Centro Culturale Candiani – Venice, IT
March 3- Melkweg – Amsterdam, NL
March 4- MOODS – Zurich, CH
March 6 & 7- New Morning – Paris, FR
March 9 – Porgy & Bess – Vienna, AT
March 16 – City Winery – Washington DC
March 17 – City Winery – New York, NY
March 19 – City Winery – Boston, MA
March 21 – City Winery – Atlanta, GA
March 23 – City Winery – Chicago, IL
March 24 – Merage JCC – Irvine, CA

And If You Will Come To Me is now available to purchase and stream on major digital platforms such as Itunes, Amazon, and Cumbancha.

For updates & details visit his website.

February 4, 2019
“Massive Tuesday in Ithaca”: Rayland Baxter Captivates the Haunt

On a snowy night in Ithaca on the precipice of the deep freeze, known as the Polar Vortex, a young college town crowd braved the elements to warm up to folk-rock breakout, Rayland Baxter and his 5-piece band. In the midst of a lengthy tour promoting his critically-acclaimed new release, Wide Awake, the set expectedly concentrated heavily on the new stuff, but sprinkled in songs from his entire catalog for a dynamic show.

The set list looked a bit like a roll call. Present was “Mr. Rodriguez,” “Angeline,” Willy, “Sandra Monica,” “Olivia,” Larocco and “Amelia Baker.” But all eyes, ears and minds were set on Baxter himself.

The frontman commanded the stage and audience like an old pro. The crowd was amped and excited; Baxter was game for a little friendly banter, going so far as to join in on a FaceTime with someone’s father. The obligatory “How’s it going?” query was answered, “It’s a massive Tuesday in Ithaca.” Baxter agreed, then took it and ran, describing his day flying in from Nashville. Later he would introduce “Olivia” as a Massive Tuesday for sensitivity dot com. When asked about his shoes, Baxter promptly took one off and put in a pitch for All Birds, followed by a pitch for his toothbrush brand of choice, of all things.

Even more, he controlled the crowd through music. At the powerful highs of “Everything to Me” and the extended jam of “Amelia Baker” they followed along in full rock out mode. They sang and danced together to the catchy hooks of “Hey Larocco” and “Casanova.” When Baxter broke it down in a mid set solo excursion, exploring some of his older, folksier material like “Dreamin’” and “Willy’s Song,” the ambient noise in the bar was dropped to an almost indistinguishable murmur. Respectfully and incredibly quiet to enjoy Baxter alone with his guitar, voice and an airy whisper of a whistle blown through his teeth.

Illiterate Light, a guitar and drum duo out of Harrisonburg, VA, warmed up the night with selections from their just-released EP, Sweet Beast. Bombastic drumming played from a standing position, fiery guitar leads and quality vocals, reminiscent of Jim James, put the stamp on an opening set that checked all the boxes. The venue had a room full of patrons from the get-go: the headliner had a crowd thoroughly ready for their set, the audience had an introduction to a great young band, and Illiterate Light had themselves a bevy of new fans.

Setlist: Strange American Dream, Mr. Rodriguez, Freakin’ Me Out, Everything to Me, Angeline, Sandra Monica, Young Man, Dreamin, Willy’s Song, Olivia, Hey Larocco, Casanova, Amelia Baker, Yellow Eyes, Let It All Go Man

February 2, 2019
AJ Lambert, Sinatra’s Granddaugher, debuts John Cale cover in new Video

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.

February 1, 2019
Hearing Aide: Tijuana Danger Dogs ‘All My Friends: Vol. 1’

The family band has a certain quality that’s tough to emulate. In Binghamton, there’s a band that is doing just that. Composed of Michael Toyryla (guitar), Jesse Wheeler (guitar), Keagan Toyryla (bass/vox) and Caleb Wheeler (drums), Tijuana Danger Dogs are a rock and roll family. Michael and Jesse met in 1999, subsequently gigging in various hard-rock projects. In 2010, an accident left Michael unable to perform live. Continuing to pursue the passion, Michael worked at recovery and the duo were able to find their niche in the studio. Here they cut their teeth songwriting and producing. Eventually, after a miraculous recovery, Tijuana Danger Dogs were able to start performing live again. This time, each of the original two members brought their son on board. Keagan and Caleb rounded out the lineup and the rock family was in full action. Their new release, All My Friends: Vol. 1 finds the band with various featured vocalists. Each song offers a different view of the group and leaves a lot to look forward to in future releases.

Overall the album has an encompassing rock n’ roll theme, dipping into such influences as Pearl Jam, Radiohead, and Green Day. The featured vocalists provide nice variety in every tune and tend to be the solidifying factor in the atmosphere of each song. While the rock is relentless throughout, the songs sometimes lack a certain build and dynamic range, which is partly a product of the production quality which can come off as more lo-fi. The hooks on the songs are great, and the melodies stack up well against the instrumental backdrops. The second track, “All My Friends (f. Tim Ruffo)” is a nice country themed song that highlights some of the band’s best qualities. The harmonies are executed well and the lead guitar offers a colorful solo. The drum performance is tight and meshes well with the bass line.

There are some Fueled by Ramen (record label) type aesthetics on here, particularly in the third song, “Getaway (f. Asia Toyryla)” where the vocal inflections tend towards pop-punk. Little soundscape additions at the end of the tune add character to the recording and outline some of the interesting ideas the band includes in their tracks that will differentiate them from other rock families. The album runs the gamut of rock influences and dips into some of the budding ideas the band has of their own. Each track has a nice variety, though the energy is often static on portions of tracks. This isn’t to say the energy isn’t that of typical rock style- there are some hard hitting parts. It will be interesting to hear what the Tijuana Danger Dogs have planned next- future studio work and live shows are on the horizon for a band whose potential is evident in this release. Check out the album on their website and catch them live as they begin to hit the road again.

Key Tracks: All My Friends, Getaway, Talk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axKLUc49grU

February 1, 2019