The CMJ Virtual Music Marathon will return virtually this year, now under the ownership of Amazing Radio. Amazing Radio also has begun their new show One Night Stand, a weekly live performance which will feature up and coming artists broadcast on AmazingRadio.tv.
One Night Stand was kicked off June 15 with a special introductory show featuring The 1975, Alvvays, alt-J, Daughter, and Wolf Alice and included informational interviews with Amazing Radio founder Paul Campbell and CEO DJ Andy Zicklin. One Night Stand will showcase two new artists each week through music and interviews. Starting June 19, the show will begin broadcasting regularly every Friday night from 8-8:30PM EST.
On June 19, fans can watch or listen to interviews and performances by Huw Edwards of KOYO (Leeds, UK) and Grace Gillespie (London, UK), and additional performances by Needshes (Moscow, Russia), Daring Greatly (San Diego, CA), Firstimers (Denver, CO), and James Alexander Bright (Hampshire, UK). The audience will be able to tip the artists directly.
Launched in England in 2007, Amazing Radio’s mission is to “[help] new and emerging artists get discovered and make money, without getting screwed.” Its North-American branch kicked off in 2018. Amazing Radio helps undiscovered artists gain media attention in an ethical way. Several iconic artists have been discovered by Amazing Radio, such as Alt J, Haim, London Grammar, Bastille, Chvrches, The 1975, Royal Blood, Sam Fender and Dua Lipa. Billboard called the station “a powerful promotional machine.”
Amazing Radio now also owns CMJ, the College Music Journal. CMJ was founded in 1977 and began hosting an annual music festival showcasing new, undiscovered talent in New York City in 1980. The festival helped artists like Lady Gaga, Mumford & Sons, and Arcade Fire gain notoriety. Unfortunately, the CMJ Music Marathon has not taken place since 2015. However, CMJ and Amazing Radio are happy to announce that the festival will be returning virtually this Summer. Although the festival cannot be in person, it will still maintain “its spirit of new music discovery,” and will now span “New York and beyond.”
All emerging artists can submit their music for the CMJ Virtual Music Marathon by becoming Amazing Artists on Amazingradio.us. Doing so offers the artists several benefits, including the chance to be considered for One Night Stand. Additionally, new artists who sell their music on AmazingRadio will keep 100% of their profits and donations.
Be sure to watch or listen to One Night Stand on AmazingRadio.tv or AmazingRadio.us respectively every Friday night from 8-8:30PM EST and submit your original work for the CMJ Virtual Music Marathon.
Escaper guitarist Will Hanza’s spirits are high as he and his fellow bandmates prepare for the highly anticipated release of their new album Apotheosis this Friday (June 19thRopeadope Records). Hanza spoke to NYS Music about the inspiration and process involved in creating Apotheosis as well as the future plans of Escaper with quarantine in mind.
Thomas Lent: The album art for Apotheosis by Matthew Chase is striking – what input and guidance, if any, did you and the band members have on the design?
Will Hanza: Oh the art is all Matt’s and he’s done a lot of work for us in the past but as far as our contribution goes he gets an advanced copy of the album, listens to it, and the we discuss what the album is about, what the meaning is, and then he creates the art. Apotheosis definitely feels like a breakthrough in his own art.
Tl: What was the songwriting process like for Apotheosis?
WH: It sort of depends on the individual track, the first few albums were instrumental but then we had some vocals.“Apotheosis” was one of our first tracks with vocals. A lot of our writing process comes from jams at first, and then we refine It from there. Open sky for example started as a solo acoustic. I brought it to the band and then fleshed it out more. For “No Strings” I remember Phil saying he wanted an “Ah Ah Ah!” feel, then we dug into that and then we started refining it into what “No Strings” finally became. The first track, “Vista,” was born out of us jamming after a song during a concert and a new sort of ‘danceable’ track came up and we decided to make it into another own song. We called it “Vista” because we felt the song elicits the feeling of climbing a mountain and reaching a new vista point.
TL: For the listener, what would you like the main takeaway to be from Apotheosis?
WH: We want this album to be a journey, start at “Vista,” goes to Open Sky – “Eye in the Open Sky”- then you realize that you are it, that we all can have that ‘Third Eye’ realization. I mean, the third track “Superhead” is all about your higher sense of self. Then when you make it to “No Strings,” it’s a fun song, once you find your sense of self, you can go onto the dance floor so to speak.
TL: Your “Escaper at Home” Youtube video series is a real treat to see. How was much of Apotheosis created in this virtual way during quarantine?
WH: Oh well ya that series was partly a treat for the fans but the album was created by us when we were together last year. It largely came out of our new drummer (Ricky Petraglia) and playing smaller shows and harvesting new material from the quartet and writing with each other late last year and refining it. Near the end of that year, we got to work with John Davis again and recorded and mixed the whole album in 6 days. Much of it was actually recorded live as well. “Res Magna” for instance had a lot of improv involved in its creation.
TL: Quarantine has made life harder for just about everyone, how do you see artists making it in this new lockdown environment?
WH: There’s a lot of hurt, it’s hard to complain about anything in my life, I don’t want to take away from other peoples struggles now with all of the new movements and causes but we scheduled this release 6 months out and had to cancel our tour we had planned with it so it’s hard. To compensate we’ve done these online things but were itching to play. We’ve looked at private parties, beaches, small events outdoors that can have a certain capacity. I know it’s somewhat controversial but music is good for people’s souls, and I believe people need that. Hopefully, by fall or next summer, we can be back on the road.
TL: What is one more thing you would like to impart upon the listener for Apotheosis?
WH: I’m hoping everyone will get it into their ears, now there’s vocals, songs with messages and important feelings that make a positive album. We’ve also tried to include the danceable part of it to have the experience and the grove as well since we’ve missed dancing with people at shows. Overall we’re very proud of the album, we hope it can help people “Escaper” a little bit.
Escaper will release Apotheosis on June 19th 2020, on Ropeadope Records.
Award-winning blues and Americana vocalist Shemekia Copeland has released her new song, “Uncivil War.” “Uncivil War” takes no sides and speaks to every person’s desire to be safe and free. Featuring iconic mandolin Sam Bush, dobro master Jerry Douglas and background vocals from popular alternative band The Orphan Brigade, the song is simultaneously comforting and challenging, as Copeland sings, “Same old wounds we’ve opened before / Nobody wins an uncivil war.” Copeland delivers the song with passion and insight about the uncertainty in the world while still finding hope for the future. The song, written by John Hahn, will be featured on Copeland’s upcoming Alligator album.
Copeland express the message she communicates in this song:
It’s not just a song. I’m trying to put the ‘united’ back in the United States. Like many people, I miss the days when we treated each other better. For me, this country’s all about people with differences coming together to be part of something we all love. That’s what really makes America beautiful.
When she first came onto the scene at age 18 with her debut album, Turn The Heat Up, Copeland quickly became a blues and R&B force to be reckoned with. Copeland’s previous album, America’s Child, won the Blues Music Award for Album Of The Year, and was named the #1 blues album of 2018 by MOJO magazine. Copeland recently received the 2020 Blues Music Award for Contemporary Blues Female Artist Of The Year, during a special online ceremony. Copeland is currently hosting her own blues radio show on SiriusXM’s Bluesville.
Kendrick Lamar once said, “Critics want to mention that they miss when hip-hop was rappin’/ Motherf*****, if you did, then Killer Mike would be platinum.” As great of a line as that was, let’s make one thing clear; all forms of hip-hop are respectable. Lyricists, mumble rappers, crooners, they all have their place within the genre. Moreover, while we often look for messages in our art, understand that you won’t find it in what I like to call “easy listening rap.” Artists who view hip-hop as a competitive sport tend to challenge themselves. They think of more elaborate rhyme schemes, pick more challenging beats to rap on and (some) interpolate different subject matters in their music. Easy listening rappers find a formula and stick to it, no matter how redundant their sound. However, their inability (or unwillingness) to change does not invalidate them. We need fun-party music, but we need the former as well. Hip hop duo Killer Mike and El-P probably won’t go platinum with this latest effort – much to Kendrick Lamar’s chagrin – yet, their latest project — RTJ4– is undeniable.
Give up the information.
Originally scheduled to be released June 5, the album was pushed up, releasing two days early, with an accompanying note: “F*** it, why wait. The world is infested with bullsh** so here’s something raw to listen to while you deal with it all. We hope it brings you some joy. Stay safe and hopeful out there and thank you for giving 2 friends the chance to be heard and do what they love. With sincere love and gratitude, Jaime + Mike.”
The fourth installment of the Run the Jewels series covers similar themes as its predecessors: racism, capitalism, socioeconomic issues. Basically, you know what you’re going to get. Even so, their ability to pinpoint America’s discriminatory ways – and Killer Mike doing an excellent job of reversing the black community’s ethos from victimhood to one of power – have resulted in 39 minutes of thought-provoking content, which is not a given in today’s hip hop climate. On “walking in the snow” Killer Mike exposes the corrupt ways in which black people are targeted, while attacking the black community themselves for their acceptance of their role as casualties.
“The way I see it you’re probably freest from the ages one to four / Around the age of five you’re shipped away for your body to be stored / They promise education, but really they give you tests and scores / And they predictin’ prison population by who scoring the lowest / And usually the lowest scores the poorest and they look like me / And every day on evening news they feed you fear for free / And you so numb you watch the cops choke out a man like me / And ’til my voice goes from a shriek to whisper, “I can’t breathe” / And you sit there in the house on couch and watch it on TV / The most you give’s a Twitter rant and call it a tragedy / But truly the travesty, you’ve been robbed of your empathy / Replaced it with apathy, I wish I could magically / Fast forward the future so then you can face it / And see how f***** up it’ll be / I promise I’m honest, they coming for you / The day after they comin’ for me.”
“I’m robbing you.” “What for?” “Whatever you got.”
Throughout the project, Killer Mike shares several cathartic moments with the audience while veteran emcee El-P plays the role of ally, addressing the nation’s corruption. On the album’s intro “yankee and the brave (ep.4)” he raps,
“it’s scammer bliss when you puttin’ villains in charge of shit / All of us targeted, all we doin’ is arguin’ / Pardon them as they work until every pocket’s been picked and soul been harvested / I’m ready to mob on these f***** Charlatans.”
On the same track, Killer Mike takes the term “Black Power” to a whole new level by doubling down on his refusal to be martyred. “I got one round left, a hunnid cops outside / I could shoot at them or put one between my eyes / Chose the latter, it don’t matter, it ain’t suicide / And if the news say it was, that’s a goddamn lie / I can’t let the pigs kill me, I got too much pride / And I meant it when I said it, never take me alive.”
It is noteworthy to mention that he also did this, but his words are powerful nonetheless.
He maintains his stance of power throughout the project, only relenting on the albums outro “a few words from the firing squad (radiation),” where he grapples with his role as a famous entertainer, his potential to make a difference within the Black community, its sometimes deadly consequences and the divisiveness it can cause within Black families.
“It’d be a lie if I told you that I ever disdained the fortune and fame / But the presence of the pleasure never abstained me from any of the pain / When my mother transitioned to another plane I was sitting on a plane / Tellin’ her to hold on and she tried hard but she just couldn’t hang / Been two years, truth is I’ll probably never be the same / Dead serious, it’s a chore not to let myself go insane / It’s crippling, make you want lean on a cup of Promethazine / But my queen say she need a king / Not another junkie, flunky rapper fiend / Friends tell her he could be another Malcolm, he could be another Martin / She told her partner I need a husband more than the world need another martyr.”
Even with excellent lyricism, there are supplementary elements that make this album noteworthy. While the duo’s cohesiveness is seen through their mutual world views, the beat selection, however, is raw and unfiltered. Heavily rock influenced, RTJ4’s production is not always sonically pleasing – possible to deter the masses who are only trying to hear “good vibes.” Instead, they are purposeful. Loud guitar riffs, drums and alarms are heard throughout as they amplify the messages. Almost as if they picked beats that would not allow the audience to drift away (sometimes a catchy beat or chorus can hinder the record’s message).
Run the Jewels 4 is meaningful. Not only because of the subject matter, but the delivery itself. In our current climate, it’s rare to find conscious rap that doesn’t portray Black people as victims. El-P and Killer Mike take the opposite approach, challenging the oppressed to defend themselves, let’s hope they take heed.
Brooklyn-based duo Drug Couple return with two new tracks, “No Outside” and “Alone 2gether,” a pairing of B-Sides released via Papercup Music. The prescient tracks were written and named before the pandemic, and offer a meditation on bunkering down with someone special while the world outside burns
The two tracks find Miles singing and playing guitar, keyboard, and chimes, with Becca on bass and vocals. Their music attempts to showcase a dialogue between genders, as opposed to the one-sided soliloquies that define so much of popular music. The two singles precede the release of their sophomore EP Choose Your Own Apocalypse, due out August 2020 on PaperCup Music.
Choose Your Own Apocalypse stands to be a collection of songs about finding someone special to share the end-times alongside. The music is not fresh from the effects of the pandemic, but find their roots in the summer of 2016. As events lead up to the election of Donald Trump, it already seemed certain that, one way or the other, Armageddon was right around the corner. Drug Couple decided to make a record based around the concept of falling in love mid-apocalypse without fully realizing that’s exactly what they were doing.
For the next installment of moe.ron Monday on Nugs.TV, the band heads to Colorado for their February 6, 2015 performance from the Ogden Theatre in Denver. moe. also recently announced the upcoming digital release of their new album This is not, We are, with select songs now available for streaming.
As of Friday, June 12, the self-titled debut album from Mariah Carey is 30 years old. With four consecutive #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 including “Vision of Love” and “Someday,” it instantly shot the Long Island-born diva into superstardom and an elite class of vocal legends including Whitney Houston. While Mariah’s legacy has been watered down to that of a washed-up Christmas singer in recent years, this unfair revisionist history ignores the impact she’s had on virtually every pop and R&B act after her.
When Mariah Carey released “Vision of Love” in 1990, the French-German duo Milli Vanilli had just been busted for lip-syncing and artists like Madonna made up for subpar vocal talent with shock value and spectacle. On the contrary, Carey demonstrated she was capable of belting, runs, melisma, and whistle tones in less than four minutes, swinging the pop pendulum the other way and reintroducing the concept of pop stars as vocalists with few gimmicks besides their own voices. More of these rose to fame throughout the 90s, from Brandy to Usher to Destiny’s Child, and the explosion of reality talent shows in the 2000s only intensified the phenomenon. Mariah’s power ballads like “Vision of Love” and “Hero” have been American Idol since its inception, a show she eventually judged.
Throughout the 90s and 2000s, Carey achieved 18 #1 hit singles on the Billboard Hot 100. She wrote and produced 17 of them, the sole exception being a cover of the Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There” for her MTV Unplugged EP. She also shared the record for the chart’s longest-running #1 with Boyz II Men for their 1995 single “One Sweet Day,” which spent 16 weeks at the top and had yet to be surpassed until Lil Nas X’s 2019 hit “Old Town Road” beat it with 19 weeks atop. Late last year, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” finally hit #1 on its 25th anniversary, giving Carey her 19th #1 overall and the first in 12 years.
Despite her immense success, Mariah’s career hasn’t been without its setbacks. She made bizarre guest appearances on MTV’s TRL and Cribs in the early 2000s that she later attributed to bipolar disorder, and she was the subject of public ridicule when critics panned her 2001 film and album Glitter. However, she returned to form with her 2005 comeback single “We Belong Together” and its accompanying albumThe Emancipation of Mimi, winning three Grammy Awards. And although her 2016 New Year’s Eve fiasco temporarily made her the butt of the joke again, she set it right with a pitch-perfect performance the following year.
Mariah Carey with her three wins for The Emancipation of Mimi at the 2006 Grammy Awards.
Carey is also no stranger to engaging in public feuds with other singers. Interestingly, a short glance at the long list of artists Carey has feuded with shows that they’ve all been influenced by her in one way or another: Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez, Demi Lovato, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj, to name just a few. They might not like her, but they still respect her achievements and emulate her in their music, style, and personas. With the Ol’ Dirty Bastard remix of “Fantasy” in 1995, Mariah became one of the first mainstream pop singers to feature a rapper on a song’s verses while singing the hook—now a common crossover recipe for top 40 artists.
Even Canadian electropop artist Grimes defended her love of Mariah Carey to Pitchfork, saying, “I know very few adult males who consider themselves serious ‘music guys’ who don’t laugh when I say I like Mariah Carey. Why? Because she’s beautiful and people like her. Therefore she must be selling sex, right? So obviously her music is terrible, right? Ugh. The first time I heard Mariah Carey, it shattered the fabric of my existence.”
Let’s head north on I-87 to Glens Falls for the May 5, 1981 Grateful Dead show at Glens Falls Civic Center. This is a high energy show, especially Set 2.
The opening set goes back and forth on Jerry and Bobby tunes until “Althea” breaks out for 10 minutes, and the set-closing pair of “The Music Never Stopped” -> “Don’t Ease Me In” is worth a listen. Set 2 stands out on paper, and for good reason. The transition from “Scarlet Begonias” into “Fire on the Mountain” is as musically tight as one could ask for, with melodic solos throughout each.
backstage pass via Larry St.Pierre
“Estimated Prophet” gets dark quick and leads into the uplifting “Eyes of the World.” A Spanish jam that develops from “Truckin’” leads into “Alabama Getaway,” and closes a set with “Johnny B. Goode.” This show is a hidden gem among Dead shows in Upstate New York. Listen below.
Grateful Dead – Glens Falls Civic Center – May 5, 1981
Set 1: Feel Like A Stranger, Peggy-O-> El Paso, Ramble On Rose, CC Rider, Althea, Passenger, Brown Eyed Women, The Music Never Stopped-> Don’t Ease Me In
Set 2: Scarlet Begonias-> Fire On The Mountain, Estimated Prophet-> Eyes Of The World-> Drums-> Uncle John’s Band-> Truckin’-> Alabama Getaway-> Johnny B. Goode
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. Each Sunday evening from 7-9pm on 102.7 FM, you’ll find EQXposure on WEQX, featuring two hours of local music to discover from up and coming artists. NYS Music will bring you a preview of artists to discover each week, just a taste of the talent waiting to be discovered by fans like you.
Tune into WEQX.com this Sunday night to hear music from Belle-Skinner, The Abyssmals, Paradisa and many more!
Belle-Skinner – “Red“
Belle-Skinner is a singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer based out of Troy and Brooklyn. She describes this song as a blood moon western apocalyptic west world tune inspired by Exudos and The Grapes of Wrath and strangely enough, it was written and recorded before COVID-19 became a big thing. Check out her new album Violets which you can buy at her belle-skinner.com.
The Abyssmals – “Let’s Forget“
This Schenectady bands unique psych-garage sound is influenced by everything from Nuggets-era classics, surf guitars, 70’s punk, Motown/Stax records, Britpop and Shoegazers of the 90’s, and Beyoncé. They’ve had music featured on various network and streaming series such as The Punisher, Nancy Drew, and Shameless. They say this song is for fans of Jesus and Mary Chain, Pulp, Ramones, karaoke, intimacy, and Nick-at-Nite.
Paradisa – “Can’t Get Enough“
Straddling the line between hooky alternative rock and the musical freedom of the neo-progressive movement of the mid-2000s, Upstate New York’s paradisa is an amalgamation of influences, experiences, and viewpoints. Four longtime friends who found each other in various corners of the burgeoning punk & alternative scenes of Northern NY, the newly anointed band have found themselves searching for truth in a world of fallacies.
Ryan Sutherland names his new album simply, Sutherland. It’s a perfect title, as that is just what you get: a man, a guitar and a simple drum kit. Sutherland uses tempo changes to unbalance the listener, while throwing in bluesy and forlorn lyrics that tie the songs right back together. This can be seen on the first track “Gideon’s Bible.” It’s a great opening track and sets the mood for what this self titles record is. Bluesy garage rock and a simple take that brings you and the artist together.
The second track, “Sludge,” has that same heavy blues like a young Elvis Presley took over lead vocals for the White Stripes, singing “Can’t Put My Finger On The Pain/It’s there to remind me of the rain/No lullaby, no fleeting glimpse/No blood on your fingertips…”
“(Dead) Don’t Die” also contains many tempo changes and seems like a stream of consciousness song. Almost like how Bob Dylan recorded Another Side of Bob Dylan. It works as a slick, quick witted track with the changes and catchy repetitive lines as well.
A lovely instrumental, “It Ain’t Too Far,” has an introduction that fades into beautiful slide work, reminiscent of the Allman Brothers; one could even imagine Greg and Duane sitting out back writing the beginning parts of a hit. It provides a nice interlude, placed perfectly on the record.
“Keep Burning Down,” comes in hot with great harmonica work, growing slowly distant as the song takes on a driving blues. It’s almost like listening to early Black Keys records and the train rumbling through a gritty city. Another Dylan-esque interlude as the tempos rise, fade and then rise again and Sutherland weaves emotional lyrics in.
“Black Cats On The Moon” has a little bit more of a folksy feel as it slowly rocks, almost a lullaby to bring the record to a close. In all this seems like a very intimate, yet also experimental album. If you close your eyes and listen it could take you from a smoky bar in West Texas, to an Upstate New York BBQ on the lake, to a back room underground poker game. Sutherland sets a mood, he sticks to it and tears down the standard timing of a blues song, while inserting a presence that you can feel in the room with you as you listen. This reviewer can’t wait to see what he puts out next.
Key Tracks: Keep Burning Down, It Ain’t Too Far, Sludge
