Upstate NY indie rock singer and guitarist Frank Palangi has released his EP “BRING ON THE FEAR.” The self-produced hard heavy Rock artist who can do anything and everything he sets his mind to has the type of personality that doesn’t give up; no matter what it takes. Palangi exhibits confidence, determined to pursue his passion for music. He fuels a refreshing positive outlook serving up a feeding frenzy of edgy heavy guitars, deep n gritty vocals.
After my 2017 “Set Me Free EP” I was doing a lot of shows/opening slots and getting into more of the recording side which lead me to a year and half experience with producing, mixing and writing the 4th installment. I progressed and learned so much through that time through books, videos and interviews about mixing and with upgraded my home studio equipment. The songs I always knew would be apart of the same CD double EP had to be similar but still new and exciting vs I Am Ready CD (2013). I teamed up with few of my favorites to work with from Lester Estelle (Kelly Clarkson) – Brian Craddock and Brandon Maclin from Daughtry for some studio work. I had self produced a single or two before but always working with producers and mixers on my main EP”s, this really made me step up and think about the whole process a lot more. This is more gritty and heavier than the “I AM Ready” release. No reason for it, just led me in that direction with the love of heavy rock. With my wide variety of influences, I did somethin more constant which may not be always the cause for the future.
Thanks to COVID-19 restrictions, drive-in movie theaters across the nation are making an unexpected comeback. The currently closed Troy Savings Bank Music Hall (celebrating their 145th anniversary this year) is taking advantage of the resurgence at the Jericho Drive-In in Glenmont, NY, where local sibling duo Jocelyn and Chris Ardnt will headline a concert with their band. Tickets for their July 9 show can be found on the Troy Music Hall website for $50 per car, a price that includes a screening of the 2019 film Yesterday immediately after the concert.
Both siblings of the duo have been compared to rock legends: Jocelyn’s voice with Grace Slick and Janis Joplin, and Chris’s guitar work with Jimi Hendrix and David Gilmour. They’ve traversed both coasts while attending Harvard University, performing with artists such as G. Love, Danny Louis of Gov’t Mule, and Cory Wong of Vulfpeck and appearing on NBC’s Today Show.
Even though this will be the first in-person concert in months for many, pandemic guidelines are still in place and drive-in patrons are expected to behave accordingly. Patrons must stay inside of their vehicles, and are required to wear masks if they need to step outside for any reason. While Jericho’s restrooms are still open, they’re encouraged for emergency use only. Since the Troy Music Hall Box Office is closed, questions about tickets and the show should be redirected to their phone number, 518-273-0038.
Roger Sharp, owner of High Peaks Event Production has launched New York Rock N Roots Festival to highlight talent in Saratoga Springs. The festival is livestreamed Sunday nights on the Rock N Roots Facebook page.
Sharp has always entertained the idea of putting on a summer festival in his hometown. His Upstate New York stomping grounds have nurtured a wealth of talent in virtually every genre, from Lana Del Rey the Goo Goo Dolls, and Ani Di Franco to moe., Rick James, Lou Gramm, 10,000 Maniacs, and Chuck Mangione. But keeping up with the demands of his growing business prevented him from getting around to realizing this dream. He finally found the time though after the COVID-19 lockdown put all events on hold. Roger Sharp expresses his thoughts on the livestream festival:
Since we can no longer do mass gatherings, we’re focusing on another way of reaching people, This isn’t a money-making deal, it’s a way to keep ourselves and bands busy, while providing our community with an entertainment option, all while following strict safety standards. Our goal is to create excitement around the bands without distracting from them.
Looking to give viewers something as close as possible to an engaging festival experience, Sharp and his wife LD Christine Sharp along with their associates decided to support each musical act with a full production light show that reflected the music. Helping Sharp and his team achieve these looks is CHAUVET Professional. CHAUVET Professional offers innovative professional lighting fixtures for the production and touring market as well as permanent installation in theaters, hospitality venues, cruise ships, clubs, television and architainment applications.
Varying which upstage fixtures are turned on at different times allows the team to create distinctly different looks for each band, while gobo patterns from the beam and spot units add depth to the stage. Additionally, the wide zoom range of the downstage fixtures increases the variety of looks during the two-hour stream by allowing the design team to change the coverage area of their front lighting.
Although, he is happy with how the livestreams have gone, Sharp admits he “can’t wait to get back to live events” once the lockdown is over. When that happens, he’s going to have a lot of great music to light, given the rich tradition of his Upstate New York market. For now, there’s New York Rock n Roots.
Since commencing his professional career in the early 80s, Gary Lucas has done about just about everything you could do with a guitar, beginning with his stint as guitarist for Captain Beefheart, followed by his songwriting and performance partnership with Jeff Buckley, and collaborations with dozens of notables just beginning with the likes of Lou Reed, Leonard Bernstein, John Zorn, Joan Osborne, Patti Smith and Iggy Pop.
A rarity who is equally adept at acoustic and the most tripped out electric, in idioms from traditional folk, Delta blues to pop, psychedelic, classical, world musics and the most avant jazz, Lucas has rightly earned the highest accolades from cognoscenti like The New Yorker (“the thinking man’s guitar hero”) and The New York Times (“Guitarist of 1,000 Ideas”). Even after 40 years and 30+ albums, Gary continues to be one of the busiest musicians going. He has toured over 40 countries, very often as a solo artist, unleashing spellbinding performances in small clubs to performing with symphonies in huge halls to creating live soundtracks to the projections of silent era film classics like “The Golem.”
photo by Brad Balfour
As per usual, Gary had a very busy year planned when Covid-19 slammed on the brakes, including a new 2-CD retrospective, tour dates in 10 countries and, of course, more collaborations with unique artistic partners, here and abroad.
When Covid came to crush the live performance business, Gary did was he does best; he improvised and created great art, and a place of comfort for his fans from around the globe, on a shoestring budget. On March 19, he inaugurated a series of three-times weekly concerts streaming live solo acoustic concerts on his Facebook page from his Greenwich Village apartment, with a diverse playlist, including tributes to his two biggest partnerships, with Beefheart and Buckley. Here’s how he did it:
Sal Cataldi: First off, what had you had planned in the way of live work that got cancelled as a result of the Covid-19 crisis and quarantine?
Gary Lucas: I had an album coming out on May 1, a Best Of double CD on the Knitting Factory label titled The Essential Gary Lucas, covering 40 years of music-making from Captain Beefheart to Jeff Buckley and Beyond—with shows booked in NYC, London, France, Italy, and Finland in support of the release. Now the album release has been postponed to early September and I naturally had to postpone the live shows till such times. Too bad as the album package itself by Steve Byram and liner notes by Glenn Kenny is a thing of beauty, and I think people would enjoy it, particularly during this very difficult period. But the way things are going, early September may prove just as problematic a time to release an album and tour as it is now– who knows? We shall see what we shall see, que sera sera and so forth.
SC: You’ve probably been one of the busiest musicians when it comes to live streams. When did you decide to take the plunge? How many have you had thus far and how long do you see continuing at this point?
GL: I’ve done about 30 half-hour solo concerts streaming live on my Facebook page every Tuesday Thursday and Saturday at 3pm EST since lockdown mid-March. And I’ve archived them here. I only missed two—once because my iPhone melted down the morning of the show and I had to scramble to get a replacement (an iPhone 11) for the next show. Then this week, because of observing Blackout Tuesday in the music biz in support of the worldwide protests against racism. I was inspired initially to begin by the example of my friend and collaborator Ada Pasternak, who does these kind of shows frequently on Facebook from her family house in Connecticut with her parents and siblings–they are great.
SC: How has the audience grown through since your debut streaming performance? How do you interact with them? Is it actually more interactive on some level than a live performance?
GL: It depends really—the streams always get thousands of views, people all over the world share them. I’ve had Facebook Messenger feedback from Australia, where one fan gets up at 5 am to watch my shows live each time I play, plus fans giving me shout-outs in Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Turkey, Morocco, Israel, South Africa, all over Europe of course, Cuba (where it’s very difficult to get internet access), Canada, Japan, Burma, Thailand… There are tons of viewers. I also talk to them directly after the shows on Facebook Messenger for about half an hour, and they also Messenger me whenever they like over Facebook to ask questions, sharing some of their work with me, and showing support. It’s more interactive in a way than a live performance actually —it’s different though. Nothing beats having a living audience in the room with you while playing and getting their feedback in real-time and in one-on-one exchanges after a live gig, I have to say, streaming is more like you’re hurling your music, throwing the thunderbolts into the ether— very strange and disembodied—and you never know who might be watching. The fans do comment while I’m playing but I am unable to read them while playing as it distracts from my focus. I do detect a stream of hearts throughout rising on the screen of my iPhone image as I play, which is a good feeling!
SC: What are the technical particulars involved in your streaming performances, in getting a good image and sound? Any big glitches?
GL: I just prop my phone up on my windowsill and hit Live Video on the iPhone at 3pm, and away we go! No other interface involved. The camera and the mic in the iPhone 11 are very good for these kind of seat of the pants performances, which are mainly acoustic or just playing electric through a small amp. I don’t bother with pedals for these streaming shows—this gives me tremendous freedom to switch between my guitars at will depending on my mood at the time.
SC: You seem to be doing a lot of thematic performances, retrospectives on your work with Captain Beefheart and Jeff Buckley for instance. How do come up with what you play, is it very pre-meditated or seat of the parts?
GL: A little bit of both actually. With my Jeff tribute, it started as me wanting to pay homage to Jeff, specifically to mark the 23rd anniversary of his tragic passing on May 29.
SC: Obviously live work is a significant part of your revenue earned as a musician. How has this impacted you and are able to make up some of the difference with donations via PayPal?
GL: Yes I have, some fans have been extremely generous and have contributed to my virtual tip-jar multiple times. It’s been a help but not enough to fully replace the typical income from my live shows. On the other hand, it’s been steady work. It’s given me some relief from the constant pressure of having to constantly line up new shows out of town on my calendar, which have to be decent paying gigs, in any case– I won’t play any old gig at this stage of the game, certainly not a door gig.
SC: On the cancelled gigs, how many have been rescheduled and are you now rebooking tours?
GL: Not yet, as no venues anywhere have truly re-opened at this point, to the best of my knowledge (and I keep checking with agents around the world). This is going to be a problem for awhile I reckon, as how can clubs and venues stay in business if they are forced to cut their attendance policy in half in order to satisfy social distancing requirements? Every time it seems the curve is flattening somewhere there are new spikes, and now with the recent mass protests in the streets…I am trying not to think about this too much, I’m just keeping on keeping on at this point with my live streaming concerts until this is hopefully sorted.
SC: You’re kind of unusual among guitarist with your acumen on both acoustic and electric. Tell us a little about your influences and how you have grown to do some pretty eclectic things like live music for the scores of classic films like The Golem and Spanish Dracula?
GL: I grew up loving all sorts of music, from Top 40 radio to English progressive rock to free jazz and, of course, American folk and blues. I loved all the same guitarists back in the day that everyone else usually cites, but I especially I loved the crazier psychedelic players such as Syd Barrett, all the guitarists with Captain Beefheart over the years, and also the English folk-blues virtuosos like Bert Jansch. America country blues master Skip James is maybe my favorite all-time guitarist. I got into live scoring of films going back to my love of cinema, especially fantasy and horror cinema, from earliest childhood. I used to show 8mm silent horror films to my friends and neighbors in the basement of our house growing up on Syracuse (and charge a nickel for the privilege). It was a short step from that to accompanying films, which I began doing in 1989 on a commission from BAM and New Music America to do something different with my music and another art form. I brought in my childhood friend Walter Horn on keyboards and we jointly composed the score for “The Golem,” which we debuted at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria as a duo. I figured out a way to do the score solo after some initial and very well received performances, and toured in 20 countries with the film solo. Since then I’ve gone on to compose at least a dozen more live solo guitar scores and perform them at cinemas and music and film festivals all over the world. My last live gig before lockdown was up at Cornell University in Ithaca NY with “The Golem”, which was extremely well received.
SC: You’re probably one of the busiest guy in guitardom, when it comes to recording? What are some the recent and forthcoming records you are most excited about?
GL: I love the recent release on Knitting Factory of The World of Captain Beefheart album, which I recorded with soul legend Nona Hendryx (Labelle) and Jesse Krakow, Jordan Shapiro and Richard Dworkin. Nona really brought something new to the proceedings in terms of being able to cover the more r&b side of the Van Vliet oeuvre, as well as very capably plunging into the Deep End of Beefheart’s most outré material. And I love the last album released before lockdown, “The Complete Jeff Buckley and Gary Lucas Songbook” on the Italian Esordisco label, which I recorded with Italian vocalist The Niro (Davide Combusti) and producer/ multi-instrumentalist Francesco Arpino. The album contains new studio versions of all the 12 songs I co-wrote with Jeff, 5 songs of which never got any official release before. The album was voted Album of the Year in Classic Rock Italia. I have two more albums ready for release with my Chinese pop trio featuring Mainland Chinese singer and erhu virtuoso Feifei Yang and Jason Candler on sax—we do some covers of Dylan and Leonard Cohen in Mandarin, which sound really fresh. I also have a new acoustic EP recorded in France before Xmas with a young French -Moroccan singer, Yass Boud, which sounds amazing—there’s also an EP in the works with a young Dutch acoustic bassist and vocalist Peter Willems to be recorded in Holland this summer. Plus a second Pearly Clouds album is in the works to be recorded in Budapest—this is my for lack of a better description psychedelic Hungarian folk trio featuring Toni Dezso on sax and traditional Hungarian folk vocalist Eniko Szabo. And I’m currently working on finishing songs for a new Gods and Monsters album featuring my longtime band of Billy Ficca (Television) drums, Ernie Brooks (Modern Lovers) on bass, and Jason Candler (Hungry March Band) on sax. There’s other stuff being planned too. I try and stay busy always.
SC: As for your retrospective, what was impact you wanted to make with this collection? Was it hard to choose these tracks over a 40-year career?
GL: I am very excited about this double CD retrospective of course. Besides containing what I consider the cream of my recorded output, it also contains some rare and unreleased tracks. Hopefully, it should provide a good overview of my work across the 30-plus albums I’ve released over the years for folks who might know my own work except for one thing only, for instance my work with Captain Beefheart, or with Jeff Buckley. It’s designed to be a good introduction to my music for folks who don’t know my work at all. Hopefully it will expand my fanbase, secure more live gigs if we ever get out of lockdown (I love to tour!), and win more appreciation for my own music in the world at large—isn’t that what most artist’s want? I’m not an Art for Art’s sake kind of guy. My music was designed to be user-friendly without following the trends of the moment. And I don’t look down on fans; I love and appreciate my fans. And, yes, it was damn hard to make the album’s selections. I kept switching and substituting tracks–until finally I said that’s it. Making that selection was like asking a mother with a very large brood of kids to choose her favorite children.
Breezy, summery, and carefree: the latest new music video for “Ride” by Lenny Kravitz is exactly what the world needs right now. Sharing a chord progression and key with his groovy 90s hit “It Ain’t Over ‘til It’s Over,” “Ride” hearkens back to simpler times and offers some welcome respite from chaotic current events. Kravitz and his love interest frolic through Parisian museums, cafes, and fields of yellow daisies as he croons in the background, allowing us to vicariously live through the kind of summer road trip or vacation we may have recently canceled.
In addition to Kravitz’s earlier work, “Ride” is reminiscent of 1970s records such as Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall and Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life. Although more understated, it retains their funky synths and strong basslines and makes the ideal soundtrack for floating in the pool on a lazy summer Saturday. Despite Lenny Kravitz singing “Through the storm, my love, we will ride,” it sounds like the storm has already passed and now there’s only peace.
Much like “It Ain’t Over ‘til It’s Over,” the lyrics of “Ride” deal with standing by a lover’s side through thick and thin, this time nearly 30 years later. “Ride” first appeared as the penultimate track on Kravitz’s 2018 album Raise Vibration. He told Rolling Stone, “We shot this video months ago in France before we could have imagined what life would be like today. After listening to the song […], we had a vision of expressing the song through portraying the characters of the writer and the spirit.” One might wonder why now after the nearly two-year wait for “Ride”’s music video, but there couldn’t be a better time to escape into a utopian summer where peace, love, and travel all prevail.
It’s Memorial Day weekend and typically, you might find yourself at a music festival to kick off summer. With COVID-19, the collective experiences are on hold for the year, but festivals are doing their best to provide fans with a bridge to the experience they look forward to all year. Summer Camp Music Festival, founded by moe. in 2001 is holding a Virtual Festival all weekend, with live performances, throwback highlights, new songs, interviews, panels, and much more to bring Scamp vibes to the Scamp family across the country.
Each day kicks off with OM On The River hosting Yoga. Then Scamp will dive into various panel discussions, artist retrospectives, and close it out with bangin’ late night sets from some of the your favorite performers over the years, including hosts moe., Umphrey’s McGee, Keller Williams, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Twiddle, Gov’t Mule and more. As a bonus, Zac Brown Band, Trey Anastasio Band, Jane’s Addiction, Willie Nelson, Tedeschi Trucks Band and The Roots will be making appearances in Headliners: A Look Back segment, on Sunday, May 24.
Get a 3-Day Summer Camp Virtual Festival Pass and you’ll have the ability to rewatch the entire stream through June 17! Each 3-Day Virtual Pass is just $24.99 with a portion of proceeds going towards nonprofits including Headcount, Conscious Alliance, and Backline, plus participating artists and their crew. Get your pass here, and check out the schedule below!
The State Theatre of Ithaca, in partnership with DSP has announced a free live-stream in honor of Bob Dylan’s birthday on Sunday, May 24 at 8 PM. The live-stream will feature a bunch of different artists from Central New York and even some largely well known artists. All proceeds from The Bob Dylan Birthday Salute will go to supporting the participating local and national touring artists that have lost their income and livelihood during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bob Dylan’s birthday is on May 24 and he’ll be turning 79. Dylan is one of America’s top all time artists and is considered one of the most original and influential voices in music history. He is a legendary singer-songwriter that has won Grammy, Golden Globe and Academy awards, as well as the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Nobel Prize for Literature. Although he won’t be performing himself, the show will be in the spirit of Bob Dylan.
The birthday celebration will feature performances from Joan Baez, Sam Harris from the X Ambassadors, Billy Strings, Sarah Jarosz, Eilen Jewell, Aoife O’Donovan w/ Eric and Colin Jacobsen, Chris Smither, Tommy Siegel from Jukebox The Ghost, Steve Forbert, Miss Tess & Thomas Bryan Eaton from Miss Tess & The Talkbacks, Maddy Walsh & Mike Suave from Maddy Walsh & The Blindspots, Joe Crookston, and Jim Miller from Western Centuries.
The State Theater of Ithaca is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization who relies on donations from the community on top of it’s ticket sales to keep its doors open. Donations will go to the artists as well as covering the production expenses that go into creating the live-stream. DSP Shows also known as Dan Smalls Productions, is a staple promoter who largely works out of central New York. Dan Smalls played a significant role earlier this month in organizing the John Prine live-stream tribute with The State Theatre.
People can view the live-stream on the State Theatre of Ithaca’s Facebook page as well as their YouTube channel starting at 8:00 PM EST on Sunday, May 24. For more information visit the State Theater’s website or DSP website.
Annie Clark, better known as St. Vincent, shared an acoustic rendition of her song “New York” during the Brooklyn Academy of Music‘s Virtual Gala held this week. The performance will be available via livestream through May 20.
Due to the Covid19 pandemic, BAM held their annual gala online, which included performances and tributes from Cate Blanchett, Zadie Smith and Jeanne Donovan Fisher.
For todays Jerry Sunday installment, we look back at the November 16, 1991 performance by Jerry Garcia Band at The Knickerbocker Arena (aka The Knick) in Albany. Now known as The Times Union Center, this show brought Deadheads back to Albany eight months after the Grateful Dead’s three-night run in March.
Jerry was joined by John Kahn (bass), Melvin Seals (keyboards), David Kemper (drums), and Jaclyn LaBranch and Gloria Jones (backing vocals).
As noted by Colin Parsons, you can observe Garcia’s having technical problems with his guitar Tiger during “Lay Down Sally” and leaving the stage. Steve Parish worked on teh guitar with a visibly upset Garcia, who eventually went back out on the stage with his Wolf guitar. The band didn’t miss a beat and kept playing while waiting for Jerry to rejoin them.
Jerry Garcia Band at The Knick, Albany, NY – November 16, 1991
SetOne: Cats Under the Stars, Stop That Train, You Never Can Tell, Run For the Roses, Money Honey, My Sisters and Brothers, Let’s Spend the Night Together
SetTwo: Lay Down Sally, Waiting for a Miracle, Think, And It Stoned Me, Ain’t No Bread In the Breadbox, Shining Star, Tangled Up In Blue
The Empire State Building synced its lights to Billy Joel’s “Miami 2017” for a unique music-to-light show that served as the surprise finale to Robin Hood and iHeartRadio’s “Rise Up New York” virtual telethon on Friday, May 15, hosted by Tina Fey.
