NYS Music 202​0

Category: News

  • Jam Master Jay Killers Finally Charged After 18 Years

    Jam Master Jay, best known as the DJ for Run DMC, was murdered in 2002 and his murders have finally been arrested after 18 years. Two men who had long been suspects in the case were arrested and charged on August 17.

    Jam Master Jay
    Run-DMC

    Jam Master Jay’s (legal name Jason Mizell) was murdered in his studio in Queens. His murder became notorious in the rap community as being one of the world’s coldest cases. One of the main questions asked by his fans was why this happened, to Jay of all people. Jam Master Jay was known for being a peaceful, old-school DJ whose group rapped mostly about sneakers, girls, basketball and their hometown of Hollis. His murder was baffling to the rap community and finally, after 18 years, there are some answers from New York City and Federal authorities.

    https://www.facebook.com/ABC11/videos/759256228169465/

    According to The New York Times’ article, New York City and Federal authorities blamed the fatal shooting of Jam Master Jay on a cocaine deal gone wrong. The suspects charged with the murder are Ronald Washington and Karl Jordan Jr., who were also charged with engaging in drug trafficking in a 10-count indictment unsealed on Monday in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn. Jordan had his arraignment on August 17 and pleaded not guilty. Washington is expected to be arraigned later in the week. Both Jordan and Washington face minimum sentences of 20 years in prison if convicted. Washington is currently serving a federal prison sentence for six robberies. Mr. Jordan was taken into custody on August 16, 2020.

    Seth D. DuCharme, the acting U.S. attorney in Brooklyn spoke on the matter saying,

    “This is a case about a murder that for nearly two decades has gone unanswered. Today we begin to answer that question of who killed Jason Mizell and why.”

    According to court papers, Mr. Washington and Mr. Jordan are both suspected of breaking into Jam Master Jay’s studio on Merrick Boulevard in Jamaica, Queens, at about 7:30 p.m on Oct. 30, 2002. Both were armed. Mr. Washington forced someone inside the studio to the ground at gunpoint, the papers say, Mr. Jordan fired a bullet into Mr. Mizell’s head, killing him almost instantly, according to The New York Times. 

  • Jimkata Debuts New Single Reflecting on Sensation of Hanging in Limbo

    Jimkata, to the excitement of their fans, debuted their new single “Wait For You” on August 13, 2020. The band recently came out of the woodworks last month dropping their single “Wanna Go” after the band went on an indefinite hiatus back in 2017. 

    The new single focuses on the feeling of being in limbo. It narrates the feeling of sitting around waiting and feeling restless while navigating uncertainty which is a feeling many can relate to during the pandemic era. The music video accompanying the song was created by animator Ben Clarkson. His animation brings further depth and dimension to the notion of waiting and being in limbo. “Wait For You” isn’t just a heartbreak inspired pop song, it is also a commentary on helplessly waiting and hoping for the world to get itself together.

    Frontman of Jimkata Evan Friedell shared some of his insights behind the new single saying, “I didn’t realize at the time I wrote it how prescient and universal that feeling would become as we experience a global pandemic and a world in chaos.”   

    The band Jimkata is a three-piece anthemic, synth-washed, electro-rock band that is based out of Ithaca, NY and Los Angeles, CA. Jimkata is known for their swirling analog synths, infectious pop hooks and candid lyrics. The band has built a distinct sound which has been resonating with listeners across the country. The band has a strong and loyal grassroots fanbase created by their relentless performing across the country before their Hiatus. 

    For more information on Jimkata and to check out “Wait For You” visit their website.

  • U.S. Senators Introduce ENCORES Act for Struggling Music Venues

    Two U.S. senators introduced a new bill, the ENCORES Act, that will provide economic support to struggling live music venues and their workers.

    ENCORES Act
    SaveOurStages hopes to get economic relief for struggling music venues.

    Senators Tom Carper and John Tester created the Entertainments New Credit Opportunity for relief & Economic Sustainability (ENCORES) Act.

    The bill gives a new tax credit to venues with less than 500 employees. The initiative is to help cover the cost of refunded tickets and cancelled concerts.

    “Today, I am joining Senator Tester to introduce the ENCORES Act, a bill that will provide much-needed relief for our live music venues by creating a tax credit to help cover refunded ticket costs due to canceled events. Music venues are truly special places that have, for generations, provided our families with priceless memories. It’s on us to do what we can to support this industry now so that we can come out on the other side of this pandemic and ensure that this will not be the day the music died.”

    Senator Tom Carper

    According to a press release, venues will be eligible if they offered costumers a voucher before they requested a refund.

    In an effort to make sure a bill providing venues with economic support passes, the National Independent Venue Association created #SaveOurStages and #RestartAct.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CDzdp7iF48n/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
    Many live music venues show their support for the #SaveOurStages Act.

    The U.S. is not the only nation protesting in support of live concert venues. England took storm with the #WeMakeEvents and Red Alert Movement. Marches throughout Manchester occurred Aug. 11, according to BBC.

    The ENCORES Act credit will allow the venues to redeem losses because of cancelled concerts.

    Milton Theater Director Fred Munzert from Delaware expressed his gratitude towards Carper.

    “History tells us that for every challenging time the arts persist and comes back even stronger. Art is one of the first things people look to when regaining their sense of normalcy.”

    Fred Munzert

  • Albany’s Historic Fuze Box Is For Sale

    After serving as Albany’s heart for the punk and hard rock scene since the ’90s, the Fuze Box has been listed for sale according to Spotlight News. For a mere $244,900, the 2,400-square-foot venue is ready to be bought according to the building’s real estate agency NAIPlatform.

    A popular spot over the recent years for those looking to get their ’80s pop dance fix, it also served as the preferred venue for hard rock artists from around the Capital Region. The Fuze Box was known during the ’80s and ’90s as QE2 and was often a frequent jaunt live performances. The Red Hot Chili Peppers even performed in the cramped space a few years before the release of Blood Sugar Sex Magik shot them to superstardom.

    One of Fuze Box’s Last Live Performances

    Fans voiced their concern on the venue’s Facebook after the pandemic forced them to shut down, leaving the Box dark since March. A post on their social media page announced the closure with no clue to when there would be dancing occurring on the checkered dance floor again.

    The Fuze Box weathered the riot that rocked the Central Avenue area of Albany where it is located. Despite concern from locals over the venues condition afterwards, the building remained intact. Silenced ensued from ownership even as neighboring restaurants were given the go ahead to reopen last month. Then the retail sale sign was posted last week.

    The 75-year-old Art Deco building is practically a blank slate for the right buyer. The venue has been approved for multiple zonings by the City of Albany which would allow for artisanal manufacturing, cafes, galleries, restaurants, a dayare and much more according to NAIPlatform.

    “Albany is probably [my] second favorite city I’ve played in behind Detroit in my 15-plus-year DJ career,” wrote William Dice Willard on FuzeBox’s Facebook page. “Such a vibe up there!”

    All of which are far flung from where the building got its start. Advertising for White Tower Burgers that still graces the front of the building giving ode to the early ’50s hamburger chain it was. The restaurant existed into the ’70s according to an online article published last year by Albany Historian Matt Malette. Remaining vacant until 1986, it was bought by purchasers Charlene and Dave Shortsleeve, who turned it into the QE2 Club. And a club it has remained since then.

  • Headcount Host Online Event Raising Awareness For Voter Registration

    Headcount and Fort Williams Artist Management have teamed up to present Vote Ready, a free online Concert for Voter Registration, taking place on Friday, August 14th at 7pm.

    The online event features The War On Drugs, Robin Pecknold, Daniel Rossen (of Grizzly Bear), Christopher Bear (of Grizzly Bear/Fools), Kyp Malone (of TV On The Radio), Jaleel Bunton (of TV On The Radio), Kevin Morby, Waxahatchee, Tarriona Tank Ball, Hand Habits, Ciggy, Kam Franklin (of The Suffers), The Building, and Allison Russell & Leyla McCalla (of Our Native Daughters)

    Headcount voter registration

    Leading up to the event, fans who check their voter registration status via HeadCount.org/VoteReady will receive a free eTicket to the stream. Anyone not currently registered will then easily be able to register to vote through an online form.

    Headcount believes that voter registration is critical, especially this year with the deadlines for registration coming up fast. ” Vote Ready” is unique as the first online music event dedicated to raising awareness for voting registration guidelines.

    This week, Headcount have announced a multi-year partnership with the International advocacy organization, Global Citizen, to further engage young Americans to check their status, register, and vote. Their partnership aims to mobilize support from artists along with entertainers, media, corporations, and nonprofit organizations, to give young Americans the tools to use their voice in the November 3, 2020 election and beyond.

    Headcount have been promoting democracy via music, culture and digital media. Since 2004, the organization has recruited nearly 700,000 new voters while working with a long list of musicians including Ariana Grande, Jay-Z and Dave Matthews Band. Following the COVID-19 outbreak, the organization was quick to switch their recruiting efforts to online. Headcount remains to be one of the most active grassroots organizations in the Country and continues to keep pushing their efforts.

  • Red Lights Flood UK Music Venues in Support of Music Industry Workers

    Music venues and theaters throughout the UK turned their lights red to support the many music industry workers who lost their jobs due to the pandemic. Similar to America’s #SaveOurStages campaign, the UK has #WeMakeEvents to call upon support for the music industry across the pond.

    Red Lights
    Red lights shown at the Tate Modern and Millennium Bridge.

    As a part of the Red Alert movement, a march in Manchester, England on Aug. 11 took place dubbed #WeMakeEvents. Among famous musicians who showed support for the movement were Leona Lewis, Doves and New Order.

    Both the Red Alert movement and #WeMakeEvents focus on raising awareness to the live music industry falling apart. This was due to not having live shows during the pandemic. Although artists were hurt from the concert losses, so were the crew members.

    According to BBC, “Producers, engineers, tour managers, security staff, truck drivers and cleaners also marched past some of Manchester’s closed venues.”

    The Royal Albert Hall joined the Red Alert movement and tweeted about their support as well.

  • “Christmas Spectacular” Cancelled in the Midst of Massive Layoffs at MSG Entertainment

    “Christmas Spectacular” was cancelled this year for the first time ever since the show was introduced in 1933. The cancellation comes on the coattails of MSG Entertainment (Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corporation) who runs “Christmas Spectacular,” announcing plans to lay off 350 people due to the COVID-19.

    The “Christmas Spectacular” stars the well known Radio City Rockettes who are an American precision dance company. The show takes place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City which is owned by MSG Entertainment and runs November 6 through January 3. MSG Entertainment decided to cancel the popular show this year due to the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic still raging throughout the world and the United States. The show hopes to be back for the 2021 production, which is on sale now.  All tickets for the 2020 production will be automatically refunded at the point of purchase. 

    MSG Entertainment announced their plans to lay off 350 people, which is around a third of their workforce, due to the economic impact the coronavirus has had on their company.  The sister company, MSG Sports, which owns the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers is laying off people as well. They announced plans to lay off 50 people which is about 15 percent of its corporate staff.

    A representative of MSG Entertainment and MSG Sports elaborated on the situation saying, “This was a difficult decision for both companies, as we know that our success rests on the strength of our people, who consistently set the industry standard for excellence and professionalism. While we believe this is a necessary step to protect the long-term future of our businesses, we continue to actively pursue solutions that will allow us to safely reopen our doors, so we’re able to bring as many employees back as quickly as we can, once a return date for live events is established.”

    According to the New York Post’s article Laid-off employees for MSG Entertainment will receive severance and benefits packages, outplacement support, to help with their transition to being unemployed. MSG Entertainment had prior efforts before it’s layoffs of 350 employees. These attempts though included other layoffs of part time employees which included the layoffs of 4,000 employees of the MSG arena, home of the Knicks and Rangers, who averaged under 20 hours at the end of March. At the end of May, 1,900 MSG venue employees who averaged over 20 hours of work were also cut.  

    For more information on the cancellation of “Christmas Spectacular” and the MSG Entertainment layoffs read the New York Post’s article here

  • MTV Moves VMA Performances Outdoors Due to COVID-19

    MTV announced plans to move the Video Music Awards(VMA) outdoors instead of indoors as per its original plan due to COVID-19.  The VMA’s will be spread throughout New York City on August 30 instead of Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. 

    Governor Andrew Cuomo announced back in June that VMA’s would take place despite COVID-19 sweeping across the country. He had announced they would take place at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center in hopes the city’s turnaround in its fight against the virus would make it possible to be held indoors by August. Unfortunately, holding a show indoors currently wouldn’t be difficult to do safely so MTV opted to follow the guidance of state and local officials urging them to move the VMA’s outside.

    The VMA shows plan to return to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center for its 2021 edition. Until then MTV and the Barclays Center promised the show would “pay homage to the incredible resiliency of New York with several outdoor performances around the City with limited or no audience” within their statement.

    The 2020 VMA’s will be hosted by Keke Palmer. The VMA’s will host performances by BTS, Doja Cat and J Balvin among others. Nominated music videos Billie Eilish’s “Everything I Wanted,” Eminem and Juice WRLD’s “Godzilla,” Future and Drake’s “Life Is Good,” Gaga and Grande’s “Rain on Me,” Taylor Swift’s “The Man,” and The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights.” Nominated artists for the year DaBaby, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Megan Thee Stallion, Post Malone, and The Weeknd. Nominated for PUSH Best New Artist are Doja Cat, Jack Harlow, Lewis Capaldi, Roddy Ricch, Tate McRae, and Yungblud. Song of the Year nominations are Billie Eilish: “Everything I Wanted,” Doja Cat: “Say So,” Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande: “Rain On Me,” Megan Thee Stallion: “Savage,” Post Malone: “Circles,” and Roddy Ricch: “The Box.” The rest of the categories and nominations can be found on MTV’s website.

    For more information on the VMA’s visit MTV’s website.

  • Practice Share New Video for Snappy Single “Sleep in My Clothes”

    NYC-based dance-pop artist Michael Tapper has released the video for his debut single “Sleep In My Clothes” from his new project Practice. The song and video were both made pre-2020 madness, and yet the themes of isolation and self-quarantine root it (maybe too much) into current reality. 

    Practice Michael Tapper

    As an accomplished drummer and indie rock lifer (Tapper was previously the drummer of We Are Scientists, BishopAllen, Fool’s Gold and Yellow Ostrich), Tapper’s point of self-discovery that led to the creation of his album Not a Game took place in 2013, when he headed out on a 28-day sailing trip from Mexico to Hawaii with his brother-in-law. The album Not a Game represents an exciting new chapter in his career as well as the beginning of something else entirely — a fresh start, sonically and perspective-wise.

    The moniker of Practice itself was borne out of this constant, self-exploratory toil, along with a connection to the practice of meditation itself. NBA legend Allen Iverson’s infamous “practice” speech was another inspiration for the project’s name, and the speech itself is showcased over the rippling synths and hissing snares of album centerpiece “Practice.”

    Speaking about “Sleep In My Clothes” Tapper explains the song’s message on the struggles he’s encountered during this global pandemic:

    Like everyone, coronavirus has upended my life and consumed probably the majority of my waking energy for the past month or so. My wife is a doctor in Manhattan, so we started quarantining before most people (when she’s not at work), concerned that she might bring it home from the hospital and not wanting to spread it to our friends or neighborhood. Our fears were founded because we did get it early, but thankfully our symptoms were mild. During this quarantine time, I was able to finish up preparing this music video for release. As I showed it to a few people, one friend mentioned that it embodies things we’re feeling during this isolation period. As one friend put it: “the vibe of the “Sleep In My Clothes” video is how I feel on a bad day during this quarantine — crying my mascara off (if I even had the will to put any on).”

    The video starts very literally with me waking up in all of my clothes and walking out the door, which is the first verse of the song, but then takes it a step further by diving into a pool fully clothed. Later, the character experiences a sort of baptismal rebirth transformation, ending up completely naked, which is a literal reference to the lyrics but also a metaphor for honesty and vulnerability, which is what’s happening lyrically at the same time.

  • Zappa Documentary is Coming to Magnolia Pictures

    Zappa, the new documentary on the life of Frank Zappa is coming to Magnolia Pictures. The film will be available to the public for Thanksgiving weekend on November 27, 2020 in select theaters, as long as theater viewings are available by then, and on demand.

    Zappa will be an intimate and expansive look into the life of the iconic — and iconoclastic — musician and artist Frank Zappa.  The documentary was made with access to the Zappa family trust and all archival footage. The film will explore the private life behind Zappa’s career including his knack for being involved in political turbulence at the time. The documentary is directed by Alex Winter known best for playing Bill S. Preston in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. 

    Magnolia Pictures’ President Eamonn Bowles spoke on the film saying, “Alex Winter has created an amazing documentary. Zappa is an incredibly nuanced and compelling look at the visionary iconoclast and the environment that formed him.”

    The documentary will feature appearances from Frank Zappa’s widow Gail Zappa and several of his musical collaborators.  People on the docket include Mike Keneally, Ian Underwood, Steve Vai, Pamela Des Barres, Bunk Gardner, David Harrington, Scott Thunes, Ruth Underwood, Ray White and others.

    Alex Winter spoke on the documentary saying, “This is the most ambitious project I’ve ever worked on, with a couple years of archival preservation in addition to several years to make the film itself. This isn’t your typical music doc but rather a multi-faceted narrative that aims to bring this complex artist to life. Magnolia, with its long and distinguished history of platforming great cinema, is the perfect home for Zappa.”

    For more information on the documentary visit Alex Winter’s website.