Each Sunday evening from 7-9pm on 102.7 FM, you’ll find EQXposure on WEQX, featuring two hours of local music from up and coming artists. Tune into WEQX.com this Sunday night to hear music from The Sea The Sea, Sarah King, The Rough Shapes and many more!
WEQX has long been the preeminent independent station in the Capital Region of New York, broadcasting from Southern VT to an ever-expanding listening audience. NYS Music brings you a preview of artists to discover each week, just a taste of the talent waiting to be discovered by fans like you.
On the wave of their latest release, Stumbling Home, WEQX will play the single “I’ll be Loving You.” Heartfelt lyrics, soul stirring harmonies, and very attentive arraignments make this music so interesting to indulge in listening. 15 million Spotify streams can’t be denied. The Sea The Sea is a pop band only in their melodic infectiouness, otherwise they are at their best when subverting conventions and making really excellent music.
Sunday evening EQX will broadcast Sarah’s newest single, “Nightstand” before it is released on October 2. Sarah’s powerful and dynamic voice is a link between Americana roots and pure wide open soul. Her songs are insightful and cut to the many dualities of the human condition. There is an intensity to her lyrical honesty and vulnerability. You’ll feel like you’re sitting on a front porch in the deep south on a sultry summer night with one too many drinks behind you, looking out at a dark, beckoning path toward a future you want to believe in but can’t quite see.
If dark moody rock-billy is a thing, here it is in all its glory. The Rough Shapes latest release is titled “Lost Stations” and is full of significant flowing melodic songwriting coupled with world-class performances by this guitar, bass, and drums trio of Jeff Kadlic, Colin Almquist and Dan Cartwright. On the surface the music plays, but there are layers of rich textures that continue to reveal themselves upon each deep listen to this awesome new release.
For years, Upstate Concert Hall has been incorrectly listed on tour promotion and concert posters as being located in Albany, NY. The venue, has been located in a Clifton Park, NY strip mall since 1996, when it was named Northern Lights, and is a 20-minute drive over the Mohawk River from Albany. The geographic error makes little difference now, as the owners of Upstate Concert Hall have relocated to Albany.
Guster performing at Upstate Concert Hall, 2019. photo by E. Reid Coker
With a fresh location in the former Capital Repertory Theatre building on South Pearl Street, the venue and area are in for a major upgrade from its previous setting. Capital Rep is moving to a new location in a renovated warehouse at 251 North Pearl Street, per the Times Union.
Upstate Concert Hall is beneficial for artists passing through the Capital Region, particularly metal and hardcore artists, as well as jam bands. The new venue at the former home of Capital Repertory Theatre stands to be a positive sign for the city of Albany, especially on Pearl Street where revitalization feels to be continually on the cusp of a renaissance.
The view from inside Capital Rep, the new home of Upstate Concert Hall
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said of the move, “This is yet another example of the unprecedented investments occurring in Albany’s newest neighborhood.”
The Clifton Park location became known as a great destination for a large number of bands who could not find a location in the city of Albany to play to crowds over a capacity of 250. There were drawbacks to the venue, including a low ceiling which limited light shows and large scale production (think of OK GO! and their confetti cannons, hitting a 12 foot drop ceiling doesn’t have the same effect).
Add in average sound quality throughout the expansive venue, as well as the location within a strip mall with limited restaurants and bars within walking distance, and Upstate Concert Hall became a destination for the artist, not the venue.
The view from inside Capital Rep, the new home of Upstate Concert Hall
Speaking to the Times Union, Jeff Buell, a principal at Redburn Development said, “We are working closely with Upstate Concert Hall to reimagine what a rock room looks like mid- and post-COVID.” Redburn purchased 111 N. Pearl two years ago as part of a six-property deal with the longtime owner, the developer Herb Ellis. Redburn has finished or is converting nine downtown buildings to rental apartments as part of a project with more than 275 residential units and a price tag north of $80 million. Buildings that are open are full or near capacity, Buell said, with others due to open in the coming months already 50 to 80 percent leased.
Apple butter toast is nice, but how about apples and Biscuits this Halloween? Lafayette Apple Festival Grounds, in conjunction with Creative Concerts, are bringing the Disco Biscuits to Syracuse for a 3-night Drive-In run over Halloween weekend, October 29-31.
The Disco Biscuits 3-Night Halloween run will offer fans the opportunity to safely enjoy live music while following social distancing guidelines. A car pass provides a designated space for a standard passenger vehicle and entry for a maximum of four people per vehicle.
Concertgoers will be able to enjoy the full Disco Biscuits concert production within their designated space for the duration of the event. Fans may bring their own prepared food and beverages to enjoy during the show.
Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, September 25 at 10AM ET. For more information visit CCTix.com.
The LaFayette area of New York produces a great deal of apples amid a rural atmosphere, rolling hills, and beautiful fall foliage. Lafayette Apple Festival is one of the Northeast’s premier arts and crafts shows, and is within walking distance of the site where the Cardiff Giant was discovered in 1869.
The Disco Biscuits played a very memorable Halloween in Syracuse in 2015 at Crouse-Hinds Theatre when they put the disco in Disco Biscuits. The show featured the Philly Stray Horns in the second set, along with vocalist Alita Moses who sang on covers of “Get Down On It,” “Funky Town,” “You Should be Dancing,” “Born to be Alive” and “Give it to me Baby.” Listen to the full show here and watch the first set below.
Brooklyn nine-piece funk lords Turkuaz explore the space between beauty and poison with their new single “Ophidiophobia,” featuring Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew of the Talking Heads. They’ll debut the tune live this weekend during VIRTUAL ROO-ALITY, Bonnaroo’s Virtual music event.
Within this age of social distancing, Harrison and Belew added in their parts remotely, and the collaboration between Turkuaz, Harrison and Belew will appear on VIRTUAL ROO-ALITY as Remain in Light, an ensemble that was slated to tour the festival circuit throughout the 2020 summer.
We had always planned on doing a little bit of Turkuaz material in the upcoming ‘Remain in Light’ tour with Adrian Belew and Jerry Harrison. Once the pandemic hit and the tour was postponed, I started to think this would be a really nice track to have those guys on.
Dave Brandwein
Pronounced oh•fid•e•oh•fo•bia, what began as an instrumental groove originally titled “Dr. Jones” with a sinister, dark tinge turned into an Indiana Jones-inspired track, as recalled by Turkuaz bari-saxophonist and vocalist, Josh Schwartz. Another working title that Dave added was “Akar Saga,” but upon looking up the phrase and discovering it was a beautiful, tropical vine, Schwartz knew he was onto something special.
“A poisonous but beautiful tropical vine with red and black features reminded me of snakes, of which Indiana Jones is famously afraid, so I realized I could combine imagery and words from both placeholder titles to write a song involving snakes. When I found out that the fear of snakes is a word as beautiful and strange as ophidiophobia, I knew this song had to be written.
This was yet another great collaboration experience with Josh building on a groove/bassline that Taylor [Shell] brought in to some writing sessions we had here at my studio. I think most of us took a small amount of these mushroom capsules I had. Turns out they weren’t so ‘micro’ and some of us had a bit more of an experience than we’d planned for. But we carried on and tried to let the grooves take over! Once Taylor started on this bassline I think we may have just jammed on it for about 40 minutes straight.
Dave Brandwein
Tune into Virtual ROO-ALITY this weekend to catch “Ophidophobia” performed live.
On a chilly September night, the first where autumn made its presence known, Jericho Drive-In in Glenmont, NY hosted a socially distant crowd of a few hundred for a double feature – Pink Talking Fish and Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused.
With cars lined up 10 rows deep, Pink Talking Fish gave the Capital District‘s jam scene something they had long been waiting for – a chance to get down and dance with close friends in a safe environment. Fans were smart and followed the rules we’ve all been aware of for six months – wearing masks when leaving your car area, and small clusters of live music fans staying within their bubbles. After 6 months of little to no live music, it’s fair to say that fans weren’t screwing this up (heads up here Gov. Cuomo).
The performance from Pink Talking Fish was as invigorating as it was cathartic. Their blend of Phish, Talking Heads and Pink Floyd was overdue for many in the crowd, with a show opening “Simple” with a “Third Stone from the Sun” tease on the 50th anniversary of Jimi Hendrix’s death.
One of many highlights of the evening, “Theme From The Bottom” > “Us And Them” > “Any Colour You Like” > “Theme From The Bottom,” featured a subtle tease of “Waste” and jumped feet first into show-stopper “Crosseyed and Painless.” To close out the night and give a nod to the second feature, Led Zeppelin’s “Dazed and Confused” was deftly intertwined within Phish’s “David Bowie,” bringing back the feel of exploratory “Bowie”‘s from the mid-90s.
Next up for Pink Talking Fish, they’ll play two shows in Burlington, VT at The Backyard at Nectar’s on Friday, October 16! More info and tickets here.
Jericho Drive-In, Glenmont, NY, Friday, September 18, 2020
Setlist: Simple* > Happiest Days Of Our Lives > Another Brick In The Wall Part 2 > This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody), Rift, Have A Cigar > And She Was, Reba, Wish You Were Here > Moon Rocks, Theme From The Bottom > Us And Them** > Any Colour You Like > Theme From The Bottom > Crosseyed And Painless > David Bowie% > Dazed And Confused > David Bowie%%
*w/ Third Stone From The Sun tease **w/ Waste tease % w/ Purple Haze tease %% w/ Dazed And Confused teases Pink Talking Fish Drive-In
Each Sunday evening from 7-9pm on 102.7 FM, you’ll find EQXposure on WEQX, featuring two hours of local music from up and coming artists. Tune into WEQX.com this Sunday night to hear music from Belle-Skinner, TIP, Architrave, and many more!
WEQX has long been the preeminent independent station in the Capital Region of New York, broadcasting from Southern VT to a ever-expanding listening audience. NYS Music brings you a preview of artists to discover each week, just a taste of the talent waiting to be discovered by fans like you.
Skinner was named one of “8 Female Musicians From Upstate New York You Should Be Listening To Right Now” by Saratoga Living and in 2015 was a finalist at the Telluride Troubadour Competition, a showcasing songwriter on the main-stage at Rocky Mountain Folks Festival in Lyons, CO. This Upstate artist has a nostalgic sense to her haunting voice that is nuanced with influences ranging from Joni Mitchel, Jeff Buckley, and Lana Del Ray. Her music elevates the modern folk song, rich in harmony, contrapuntal melodic phrasing, and wonderful song crafting.
Ballston Spa duo Architrave features programmed grooves, hearty classic synth sounds, with real guitars and bass. They have just released a new single, “Blissed Out,” which continues on their catalogue of moody electronic pulsating melodies. The New Wave movement of The Cure, Portishead, The XX has new momentum with Architrave.
TIP features Very clever and intricate song crafting and musicianship describes this quartet of college friends. The music is unique, evocative, and layered. Performing on recent live streams during quarantine for WEQX at HIGHPEAKS Sound. Think of guitar driven riff bands, each musician in this band plays with equal conviction as if these players were pre-destined to be in the same band today, they each play as an extension of the next player. There is a freshness to their sound, something bands strive for but these guys are out of the gate with that. Check their live stream show at High Peaks Sound a few weeks ago.
Growing up in a musical household, it was in Oakley’s blood to seek out a stage of his own to command. Both Oakley’s mother and father were talented musicians, with his mother playing bass guitar and his father singing in modern rock and blues bands. Oakley’s Uncle Craig was also a well known jazz drummer, having played with artists such as The Beach Boys and Bob Hope.
The song came from a run of dates my band and I were on and I really took notice of how there was always one woman in the room that just stopped the place. I was amazed at the power these woman had and that’s where the last line of the chorus “Don’t you know you front row women get me every time” comes from.
Kolby Oakley on “Front Row Woman”
In January 2016, Oakley packed his guitar and moved from Upstate New York to Nashville to begin the next chapter of his career. Since moving to Nashville, Oakley has released multiple songs including “Moonshine Stand,” “Mud Bog” and “I’m Here.” Oakley says, “It took me some time to find who I am as an artist and where my place is in music as a whole. My latest music includes all my influences from Country, Rock and Blues, which delivers the Outlaw Country/Rock sound you hear on my latest work. ”
“A Spirit,” a melodic jazz single by Buffalo’s Donny Frauenhofer is the latest quarantine composition from the Intrepid Travelers frontman.
Frauenhofer plays piano on “A Spirit,” and also handled production, mixing and mastering. Colin Brydalski plays bass and behind the drum kit is Isaiah Griffin. Support these musicians through Patreon, and read below for Frauenhofer’s take on “A Spirit.”
This composition is one that I’m most proud of. I wrote it in one night during the quarantine, and the name comes from the sensation of being alone, but not feeling alone. Whether you call it a muse, a ghost, a spirit, a god, a manifestation of your own subconscious – sometimes things that seem separate from ourselves visit us to deliver a message. I’m not interested in the explanation of why or what this sensation is, but rather communicating the sensation itself. This song is both the product of that, and expresses that feeling.
Twenty years ago, on September 14, 2000, Phish performed to a rain-soaked crowd at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center. The last stop in New York on their Fall 2000 tour, this show would later be released as Live Phish, Vol. 3 in Septmeber, 2001.
Art by Drew Suto
This was also Phish’s last show in New York until December 31, 2002 at Madison Square Garden, which ended the band’s hiatus that began on October 7, 2000. The band played six shows in the Northeast on their Fall 2000 tour, as they headed to the Midwest and, eventually, the West Coast to cap off their first 17 years as a band and take a much needed break from the road. The Darien Lake show was the fifth of these shows, and major storm be damned, fans flocked to Western New York in search of one final taste of Phish for the foreseeable future.
In releasing this show just a year later, as part of their then-new Live Phish series, it certified the excellence in playing throughout the show. Trey Anastasio spoke to Relix Magazine in the August 2001 issue and referenced the show’s inclusion in Live Phish.
There are also three shows from 2000 in the series. Page and I picked one of them because it has this version of ‘Carini’ that I’m convinced is the greatest version of all time. I’m not convinced that it’s the whole greatest show of all time, but I love this version of ‘Carini.’ I also like the song list, because if you didn’t like Phish and you heard this set, it would be very interesting. There’s ‘Punch You In the Eye,’ ‘Reba,’ [Neil Young’s] ‘Albuquerque’ and ‘Carini.’ I think it sounds like such a weird band.” Trey cracks up. “Those four songs in a row? You can’t make any sense of it. The ‘Carini’ is like 15 or 20 minutes long or something. It’s a complete metal meltdown. It’s the bass and drumming in the background that I really liked. It’s really strange. Nobody’s playing the beat at all. Those guys are playing in quarter time and the guitar and keyboards are just creating this wash of color on top of this heavy booming. It’s right after ‘Albuquerque,’ which has harmonies and then this heavy metal thing. If you kind of step away from it, they’re both really odd.”
Trey Anastasio, Relix Magazine, August 2001
It had rained all day at Darien Center, and would downpour more during the show, a seemingly never-ending torrent of water from the sky. Anastasio summed up the first set well, noting a band and fan favorite version of “Carini” amid a six-song set that was capped by “The Oh Kee Pah Ceremony” > “Suzy Greenberg,” with the latter being jammed well beyond the normal confines of the set closer.
Set 2 opened with “Drowned,” apropos for the downpour that drenched the crowd on the lawn throughout the evening. Dave Calarco, aka Mr. Miner, shared his take on this hallmark version of The Who classic.
“Delving into abstract psychedelia and ambient madness, this was arguably the craziest and most “out-there,” terrorizing, and successful jams of the fall- all wrapped into one. Accessing alien atmospheres during this mind-bending excursion, this jam illustrated the ’99-’00 millennial exploration of abstract soundscapes, an element of the band’s creative direction during these years.”
After 30 minutes of “Drowned,” Phish moved onto another song originating from their Halloween musical costumes of the past, with Talking Heads’ “Crosseyed and Painless.” 11 minutes later, the mellow and rare “Dog Faced Boy” shone some light after more than 40 minutes of dark jams, followed by “Prince Caspian” and Rolling Stones’ “Loving Cup to close the set.
A unique encore followed, featuring three songs, two of which were still relatively new to the Phish repertoire – “Driver,” “The Inlaw Josie Wales” – and one of their most well known tunes, “Sample in a Jar.” The rain let up in the last half hour of the show, but spirits were far from dampened on this night. Some fans in attendance bid farewell to Phish, not knowing when the band’s self-imposed hiatus would bring them back.
The Low Beat, located on Central Avenue in Albany, has permanently closed. This marks the first music venue in the Capital District to officially not reopen due to the economic shutdown caused by COVID-19, and no relief coming from Congress.
Having opened in 2014, The Low Beat was a relocation of sorts for Valentine’s, which closed in February 2014 due to expansion of Albany Medical Center. Owner Howard Glassman oversaw both venues, both of which played host to waves of jam, punk, hardcore and indie artists who passed through the Capital Region, with live music nearly every night of the year.
photo by Sarah Winner
At Valentine’s in the 1990s, bands like moe., Ominous Seapods and more built followings that last to this day. Wednesday nights with The Deadbeats were infamous among local Grateful Dead aficionados, and those nights continued at The Low Beat with bands like Ampevene, Glass Pony and others gracing the ‘No Pepper Games’ stage.
Glassman said opening up a new venue in the wake of the closing of Valentine’s,
It’s gonna be a little different, only because it’s going to be our bar. It’s going to be our building. We can do whatever we want and not have to worry about getting kicked out. This is what I do, so this will be around as long as I’m around. I think people need to feel like they have their place. Think about all the bars that have closed. CBGB’s, Maxwell’s, think about when the Palais Royale was still open. It’s not the same (as Valentine’s) but it’s not the same for different reasons. But once we open up, hopefully the first Wednesday when The Deadbeats play, and people come in and they’re like “Ah there’s Grumpy and there’s Chris,’ and they settle in, and I think when their ass makes an indentation in the seat, they’ll be cool and say ‘Alright. This is where we’re gonna hang for the next 20 years.’ I think it’s the vibe. It’s totally a vibe thing.
March 9 was the final night of music at The Low Beat, which saw The Deadbeats perform ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping through the country and closing music venues, shopping malls, bowling alleys and other communal places of leisure.
This past weekend Glassman opened the doors to The Low Beat and invited people to come down to the venue and pick up anything they wanted before the doors were permanently closed. All Glassman asked in return was a little money to help pay off his final bills, as reported by the Times Union.
Starting Monday, September 14 from 9am-5pm, stop in and get what is left of the venue’s memorabilia, just be sure to bring your own screwdriver, boxes and cash.
When asked for his final thoughts on The Low Beat, Glassman simply said “It was never EVER boring.”
