Author: Chuck DeFilippo

  • Premiere: Sydney Irving Transcends Stardom with New Music Video ‘Rain’

    As lighting strikes, it is evident Sydney Irving belongs. Although, you’re just getting to know the high school senior, her name will hold a heavier weight as time moves on. She will fill your music library, as you come to realize Sydney Irving‘s on the rise.

    Today’s “Rain” sheds New Light

    The Syracuse songwriter released her music video “Rain” to back the single that debuted late last month.

    The premise of “Rain,” is it’s usually a bad thing and you want to get away from it. But, the rain is purifying. It washes away. You step into the light and feel better than before.

    Sydney Irving – On “Rain”

    “Rain” marks a many first for Sydney. It is the first storyline video of her short career. “For Hanna, Emily and Justin, it’s a little love triangle kind of thing. We had to direct everything we wanted done.” Interestingly enough she remains out of the limelight, tastefully, hanging back with the band.

    Rockstar On The Rise

    Based on her websites bio, Irving drew from the likes of Taylor Swift, but her roots are much deeper. Infected with the classic rock bug. The Doors, Tom Petty, Ryan Adams and other greats influence her musicianship. Currently she is hooked on Raising Sand, a Plant/Krauss duo album that was ironically released October 23, when Irving was only four years old.

    Why Sydney you ask? It’s her grasp on past and future music generations and bridging them together. Her sheer humbleness. It’s her retro take on the music industry, reeling us back to how things were done. She has a plan and she executes.

    The 17-year-old is combining the above influence with modern hooks to develop a sound more fitting for her voice. Irving and her team have another single to release in November titled “What Have You Done.” All of which will be apart of a December EP release. “For the new record it’s an endavour into more rock and roll,” said Irving.

    “Rain” is for sale on Irving’s website, on a 100-count limited edition, signed-CD run. It can be purchased on iTunes and Amazon music. Today it will be released alongside the video on major streaming platforms.

    Hidden details amidst an over-exposed storyline hints at Irvings style. Her Ziggy Stardust alter-ego may be coming though with those lightning rod earrings. The Mojo, her band is refined, yet capable to unwind into a catchy rock bliss.

    Sydney’s Standout Moments

    Big standout moments are self fulfilling in their own right for Irving. When asked where she wanted be in a year or so down the line, Irving calmly had no shift from her current thought. She is grateful for the journey, happy to be balancing music and school, beyond humble and appreciative of her team behind her. “My management team, Grace Musicians Group, have helped me get to where I am today.” Irving seemingly stumbled upon Breedlove Guitars after her dad got her a second instrument

    I’ve always love music, my dad will always have a record playing. I think the love came from a young age. I love the connection you can have with people and music. Theres been a couple times where I’ve been out playing and people say they came to the restaurant, or bar, just to see me.

    Aside from high honor roll, Irving has been nominated for three SAMMY Awards and recently claimed the title of Young Adult Artist of the Year at the International Singer Songwriter Association Awards. She stood out last month against 1,300 talented nominations, in Atlanta, Ga.

    Irving give Barns Courtney a run for his money on “You and I.”

    If “Rain” doesn’t have you on the hook take it direct from the songwriter yourself: “I would say – come check it out, you might like it.” 

  • Disco Biscuits 10-Day Drive In Run Broadcast on Couchtour.tv Launch

    The new Couchtour.TV livestream service will offer a taste of what’s to come with Disco Biscuits Drive-In Broadcasts, starting tonight from Yarmouth, MA.

    Disco Biscuits founding member and lead guitarist, Jon Barber, now has a new title – Founder of Couchtour.tv. Thus, it makes perfect sense his band will test the startup platform. Tonight they will take to intergalactic heights – literally zapping a live feed into space then crashing down to your living room as you sip Dogfish Head on your couch.

    Couchtour

    The whole aim here is for you to enjoy the show responsibly – going on the most epic concert trip, without moving an inch. However, Couchtour.tv won’t stop there. For the adventure seekers, delve into their chat feature and engage with everyone. Get stoked on Couchtour.tv as it is far from it perfected final form.

    The beta launched October. 3, featuring live performances from Chicago house trio Orchard lounge and electronic breakbeat exploration, DrFameus. Get it while it’s hot. Couchtour.tv isn’t holding back that they’re the new kids on the block. As they work through the ‘bells and whistles,’ now is the best time to experience a raw, upcoming stream service.

    The project boasts their contributions to HeadCount, helping register voters and promote non-partisan democracy through the power of music. In addition, the multi-faucet idea will take on role of a promoter. It’s an all in one.

    Go to Couchtour.tv and sign up to access pricing and see your purchase options. 

    Couchtour.tv wasn’t a new idea, but time that would have otherwise been spent on the road opened up the space to finally bring Couchtour.tv to fruition. We’ve got a great team working on this, but it’s still gonna’ be a few months before we can roll this out in its complete form – bells, whistles and all – then it’ll be available wherever fans go to get their apps.

    Jon Barber – Disco Biscuits

    Couchtour.tv can be summed into two words. High Def. They guarantee above the rest with the highest quality stream, real-time customer service and the ability to host events literally anywhere. Their state-of-the-art satellite tech can zap converts from anywhere with a plugin. Maybe the Biscuits will be on a boat or teetering on the edge of a mountain, according tho the official press release on Wednesday. There are no limits.

    Flashback to ‘Summer 2020’: Disco Biscuits Play Ball at Citizens Bank Park
  • Gooseberry Blooms with Third 2020 Single ‘When I’m Gone’

    Brooklyn alternative quintet, Gooseberry, evolves with their third 2020 single “When I’m Gone.” Their inception began last fall. It takes form of an elusive fruit – a ploy to keep listenes guessing, or, a disregard of boarders in their infinite musical exploration.

    The band collides at an unpredicted crossroads of endless influence. Blues, jazz, soul, rock and R&B genres meet. Yet they create and audibly different constant. Each flavor is interjected, shapeshifting the whole.

    When I'm Gone Gooseberry

    “When I’m Gone” sounds familiar, like a sitcom intro with an alternative edge. The intro sweeps you up with an airy keyboard melody from Sam Rappaport. Asa ‘Baked Goods’ Daniels on guitar hints at a more explosive end. The band caries on.

    Drummer Colin Ashen and Bassist Will Hammond keep a solid backbone for the bands energetic bursts and ever-blooming hook. There’s something ear-catching at ever bar, including a clever placement of vibraslap.

    Each chorus grows into a more indie sound. The band flourishes as they stew on the title lyric. Ashen’s drums sweep into an open ride crescendo and Gooseberry takes on in an explosive indie-jam band fashion. Something they’ve only hinted at throughout each verse. Daniels amps-up, showing of his ear-grabbing guitar work.

    When I'm Gone Gooseberry

    The song highlights the band’s eclectic range of influences, showing resonances of classic rock, 70’s soul, and the piano-forward pop of artists like Randy Newman and Carole King. When I’m Gone is a lamentation over the certainty of loss and an ode to those we leave behind in the search for higher ground.

    Gooseberry, on “When I’m Gone”

    The album art is elusive and colorful, paring well with Gooseberry’s musical intent. Each part melts together. It shape-shifts the whole. The door is wide open to explore.

    Read more on Gooseberry’s 2020 Singles

    “Berkshires” goes back to major influences like D’Angelo, Donny Hathaway, and Stevie Wonder, while their newest, “The Protagonist,” showcases a more alternative/indie sound in the styles of the Foo Fighters, Courtney Barnett, Arctic Monkeys, and Spoon. Before the pandemic, Gooseberry had a biweekly residency at Harefield Road in Brooklyn, where they were steadily growing a devoted audience around their live shows. They had been gigging fairly regularly in and around New York City, running the full gamut of venues from The Cobra Club to DROM to house shows across the boroughs. 

    – Fiona Hernandez
    Read more at NYS Music…
  • Springsteen Divulges intimate single off upcoming album ‘Letter To You’

    Music icon Bruce Springsteen is set to release Letter To You October 23 with his E Street Band. His 20th studio album is a harmonious fusion of all things Springsteen. At this level it’s hard to push the envelope further, instead Bruce steps back and opens up his heart.

    The 12-track album is a micro-burst of Springsteen’s life in real-time, recorded in a mere five days at his home studio. “I love the emotional nature of Letter To You,” says Springsteen in the official press release. “And I love the sound of the E Street Band playing completely live in the studio, in a way we’ve never done before, and with no overdubs…it turned out to be one of the greatest recording experiences I’ve ever had.”

    With that first snare-pickup we are catapulted in Bruce’s world, soaring effortless. The songwriting is flawless, opening mid-emotion. It paints distinct imagery only found deep in someones heart -“‘Neath a crown of mongrel trees, I pulled that bothersome thread.”

    There is something to be said for the natural beauty and lack of refinement, to expose a new side of Springsteen. Likewise, the album features nine newly written songs and three unreleased tracks from the 1970’s – “Janey Needs a Shooter,” “If I Was the Priest,” and “Song for Orphans.”

    Letter To You is Springsteen’s first time performing with the E Street Band since The River 2016 tour, which both Billboard and Pollstar both named as that year’s top global tour.

    Letter to You

    Tracklist:
    1. One Minute You’re Here
    2. Letter To You
    3. Burnin’ Train
    4. Janey Needs A Shooter
    5. Last Man Standing
    6. The Power Of Prayer
    7. House Of A Thousand Guitars
    8. Rainmaker
    9. If I Was The Priest
    10. Ghosts
    11. Song For Orphans
    12. I’ll See You In My Dreams

  • Hearing Aide: ShwizZ release ‘Big Things,’ provoke Musical Euphoria

    Nyack duo ShwizZ slams you against the blackboard in awe that all your basic math skills have fleeted. Not only does ShwizZ explore a multi-level, mixed-meter halfway house of genres, but also bulldoze your ear to the other end of the record collection with their latest Big Things. No algorithm can compute this formula. Not from two people.

    ShwizZ

    It’s hard to believe Big Things can lead you through all eight compositions without losing sight of what’s ahead. Something doesn’t add up. The duo – Ryan Liatsis and Andy Boxer – stab you with the sharp pain of “Splinter,” opening with an off the cuff funk tag. The tune walks on with staccato chunks of its bassline before Liatsis shoots out jarring guitar pads.

    These guys look bored amid a musical Mortal Kombat where nobody breaks a sweat. Boxer is collected behind the kit, unleashing cool six-stroke rolls and collapsing tom fills in-between Liatsis’ ever-changing soundscape. Liatsis begins to crack a smile as he waves through his solo, far beyond the musical speed-limit. Boxer listens and instigates. The strings are not phased.

    The albums second track “Khoi Khoi,” aides to more textured side of the duo. They explore a more mysterious side of scale that is oddly cathartic. That is until you’re stunned unexpectedly from your dream.

    ShwizZ gets creative with “Your Call is Very Important Us,” in a meter that seemingly races ahead of the ear. Boxer’s cymbal work is airy and effortlessly hangs with Liatsis on Guitar. The meter does not exist.

    There is no explaining how ironically calming this journey is. It’s the movie you can’t watch but inch closer to the screen. Liatsis has you on the hook with these roaring solos never loosing sight of the songs motif.

    An album favorite for the die hard rocker is “The Shwizzard.” A chunky lead and solid back beat make the track stand out gritty. Liatsis shoves the lead right in your face. The track embarks on short epics with classic rock feel.

    New York State’s theme of a “hearing aide” is unmasked by ShwizZ and their June release of Big Things. The album tunes the ears of the most complex listener and holds them to a higher standard.

  • Walking in Bendt’s World: Rock Music Beyond the Surface

    An Albany passion project amongst friends has evolved into a molecular musical composition, otherwise known as Bendt. The four-piece rock group strands undoubted rock heritage with a meticulous nuance of modern yet technical tangents. In their most recent, and debut full length, Bendt tells a story that clearly roots deeper than their sonic surface.

    Bendt

    Bendt’s nine track album, Brightness in the Barrens, is sequenced in such a way that provokes the ear. With each track comes a new tone, walking you up a spiral staircase. It’s that moment where you inch closer, adjust your ear and grow more curious with each step. “Encumbered,” marks that sonic threshold where you’ve now entered Bent’s world – The Rock n’ Roll egg has been cracked and mutates before your own eyes.

    A Lonely shadow wearing down

    The flooding ends but the flames abound

    With knowledge worth its weight in gold 

    Encumbered minds best left unsold

    “Encumbered” – Bendt

    Notably, Bendt has made an effort with the albums opening track “Symptoms.” It debuted as a single in January and paired with a play-along music video. You can’t knock a band that leads with their musical foot forward. The opening hook is gritty with drum licks that make the listener jump more than once. Lead guitarist, Carl Blackwood, is impressive as he takes the bridge to atmospherical heights. Each instrument colors the piece in their own right, but Bendt is just getting warmed up.

    Bendt has that iconic rock sound, but thrives in their subtle textures. Tracks like “Dire Elevation,” “13th” and “Don’t” start at utter ends of the spectrum and contrast each other brilliantly. It’s a physical fitness test of the musical minds. Nothing yields way. Everything is continually changing.

    Bendt @ Sonelab Recording Studio 12/16/18 – Bryan Lasky

    Without ample background, Bendt punningly plays on the notes between the notes. Highlighting on a personal favorite, “Knife” cuts right through the bullshit. Downright gritty rock that highlights the strength of each player. Continually throughout the album Blackwood and bassist, John Longo push and pull against Matt Plummer’s lead vocals. Drummer Cody Bingham doesn’t play like an outright rock drummer. His nuance captures the intricate textures that non-chromatic instruments often miss – taking what’s his and bolstering the energy in the room. Then roaring on the floor tom, sharpening the band back into the hook.


    Album outliers “Open Spaces” and “Something” round out this debut and make way for a suspenseful setlist if weaved carefully as interludes, or stacked as dreamy encore.

    Bendt is a hip rock band that plays outiside the box. My guess: their live performances will keep the eyes and ears on edge, trying to absorb what’s actually going on. Gridlocked by the pandemic “Brightness in the Barrens” has not had its chance to bloom.

    Be sure to check out Bendt’s 2017 self titled EP that holds its own against Brightness in the Barrens eye for eye – or mixed on shuffle. “Odyssey” is a mysterious harmonic that lurks in the musical mastermind of Bendt – giving way with long-winding strums – so you can take it all in once again. It grows.

  • Venues Vault: Breaking into the Concert Experience

    What lengths are you willing to go to keep your life’s work alive; will these adaptations muddle the concert experience forever.

    Devastation throughout the music industry has crippled artists and their mediums – Venues. Amid a global pandemic we are seemingly waiting – for venues to open, shows to begin and the concert experience to shapeshift into a safe, sustainable event. Nobody is sure what the final product will be, yet passion radiates. Through blooming efforts like the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) right here in New York, we have band together to save our industry and the concert experience as we knew it.

    Venues

    The Past: 

    Being elbow-to-rib is just part of the experience. Hours spent waiting in line that sparked anxious anticipation, or getting sucked into the stage by the crowd when the lights go dim, before the main act, cannot be replaced by live streams. Maybe you’re the one up front hanging over the barrier, screaming every lyric verbatim; maybe you’re setback, studying your favorite instrument or player; you’re moving around, dancing or moshing (respectfully of course); or you’re the type that hangs at the bar with friends, reminiscing how you’ve seen this particular band hundreds of times. All of these moving parts create energy.  

    When you walk into a venue it sets the mood, the crowd and band feeds off one another. From local dive bars and smaller venues, to theatres and arenas, stepping in pre-soundcheck has a therapeutic energy for performers, as does the commotion when the doors open. Artists paint backstages, leaving totems or memorabilia that builds a venue’s character. When those spaces are cut to half capacity, or less, that energy is depleted.

     Everyone’s safety and economic sustainability is paramount, but nobody is talking about sustaining these colorful parts of the canvas. Adapting is necessary. Yet, promoters, artists and venues are stuck in limbo. Letting go of the experience as we knew it remains untold.

    Music Canada sites 40% of concertgoers won’t return until six months after restrictions lifted.

    The Present:

    NIVA was created by Independent Venue Week, top venues and promoters across the nation, “to fight for the survival of independent venues, their employees, artists, fans and their communities,” (nivassoc.org). Sucking in 450 members across 43 states in the first three days, they are now pushing 2,000 members nationwide (50 States) for an endless-scrolling roster on their website. Founded by the industry’s best, NIVA states that 90 percent of independent venues will collapse if they don’t open this year. With rumours saying this lockdown can lead well into 2021, will we be able to recover.

    venues

    Capacity restrictions will limit venues’ revenue, and minimum thresholds vary. A Chicago study deemed a 12:1 ratio of economic impact among small venues (nivassoc.org). Twelve dollars of economic stimulus to hotels, restaurants and shops flooded in for every dollar spent inside the venue. Extrapolate that on a $50 ticket, or a night out for a group of excited fans. The impact is everything. 

    According to a USA Today article, Johns Hopkins Director of the Master of Bioethics degree program and Research Scholar, Travis Rieder,  said there’s serious doubt about live music returning before 2021 and “a shortage of test and lack of vaccine simply make things too risky.” Unfortunately, he continues that “the risk of those events as we would have done them in the past outweighs the benefit of doing them.” Masks, temperature checks and spacing restrictions may not be enough. Is your favorite band or venue worth the risk.

    With the music industry on the rise prior to COVID-19, Pollstar predicts a daunting $8.9 billion hit, should quarantine continue and venues remain dark. They go on to state “industry losses could total about $5.2 billion in just missed ticket sales alone,” and not to mention residual impacts on the economy and all of those employed in the box offices, concession stands, parking valet, and so on. 

    The answer is NOTHING. Nothing will stop us from preserving our life’s work, the concert experience, our art, and all the pieces that work together to keep it alive. 

    On Thursday, June 18, NIVA made an official statement urging for federal help:

    We, the undersigned artists, respectfully submit this letter in support of NIVA’s request for federal assistance for independent music venues and promoters across the United States.

    Artists’ Letter To Congress – NIVA

    This is no petty petition. Industry giants, artists and celebrities wave an official SOS including: Joel, Eilish, Seinfeld, Gaga, Letterman, Goldberg, Iver, Lauper, Plant, Nelson, Aoki, Mayer, Leno, Weir, Watts…

    The irony in their signatures – it merits no value when we are all on lockdown. Something super-fan would unassumingly die for is now a cry for help, for congress to help kickstart the industry back to the creative and thriving outlet it once was, pre COVID-19.

    We will continue to fight, support and be the voice for all artists, venues and industry mediums that are struggling. Stay tuned for ‘The Vault,” featuring venue and artist specific coverage on this topic. Please contact NYS Music so your voice can be heard.

    #SaveOurStages

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