Each Sunday evening from 7-9pm 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 new music from Being Both, Girl Blue 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.
When EQXposure kicks off on Sunday evening, host Pearson will feature an hour of two in a row from a select group pf local artists. These two songs in a row will give a glimpse into an artist or band that reveals who they are and what they are all about, no matter how different or similar the songs are.
Next, Pearson, features the new project from Christopher Brown of Troy’s Super Dark Collective, called Being Both. The debut track “Picturing Picturing,” from the album Her Words, My Mouth, is a beautiful tune of longing, with a subtle mellotron background set next to an arpeggiated electric piano.
Also featured is a brand new song from Girl Blue, “Just a Dream”
Saratoga Springs’ Sly Fox and the Hustlers are currently in the studio completing a new album to be released in Spring 2021. Ahead of time, Fox has shared a Christmas tune, a cover of Ray Charles’ “That Spirit of Christmas,” designed to spread some love this holiday season.
Released on December 17, along with the snowfall, the song channels the Ray Charles holiday classic with Fox’s blues roots through his vocals and guitar. The single will be available for purchase on all streaming sites and all proceeds will be donated to Toys for Tots in the Capital Region during the month of December.
Sly Fox shares some thoughts on the song:
I’m one of those people that loves Christmas music, especially the classics but this one is my favorite! I’m a huge Ray Charles fan and it’s a cover of his song, “That Spirit of Christmas.” What makes it stand out to me (among all the great Christmas songs) is the soulful message of the song with an emphasis on spirituality, love, family and trying to sustain those good vibes throughout the year!
Fans of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation will recall the song from the scene where Clark (Chevy Chase) is in the attic. The artwork for the song is Fox and his sister on Christmas morning at 5yrs old with his first guitar. For more music from Sky Fox and the Hustlers, follow them on Facebook.
On December 12, the Albany Symphony performed works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Michael Torke, and Viet Cuong. The concert was centered around these composers due to their age; they were all under 30 when the pieces were written.
The conductor, David Alan Miller, held a pre-concert talk where he discussed the Beethoven pieces and talked with Torke and Cuong. In the discussion with Torke, he talks about the inspiration for his piece, Ash. Written in 1988 after his mother’s death, the piece is one of Torke’s characteristic “color pieces”, aptly named for the colors he associates with key signatures due to his synesthesia. The piece is in f-minor, a darker key, to match the title.
Miller’s next interview was with Viet Cuong, a rising young composer. His piece, Extra(ordinarily) Fancy, is a sequel to his 2017 piece, Extra Fancy. The double oboe concerto utilizes multi-phonics, an extended technique on the instrument. He was inspired by Baroque music, specifically Vivaldi. Cuong also talked about his use of Shepard tones. In short, it is an audio illusion that makes the music feel like it is constantly rising. He was inspired by the endless stairs from Super Mario 64. This concert was supposed to premiere a large orchestral work by Cuong, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is now planned for next fall.
The Concert
The concert started with the Overture and finale to Beethoven’s Creatures of Prometheus ballet. The dramatic beginning is greatly contrasted by the rich melodies. The finale is strikingly similar to Beethoven’s Third Symphony as he used the same melody in that finale as well, a staple of Beethoven.
They next moved onto Torke’s Ash. The piece has an obvious darkness that is aided by the key. There is a lush texture to the piece with many rich harmonies as well. The middle section modulates to A-flat major, also utilizing syncopation to give the piece a different feel. It also utilizes a technique similar to Beethoven. By using octaves and unisons in the strings, it adds intensity and builds tension within the piece to lead to the climax. Beethoven pioneered this technique, and Torke uses it to its full extent.
Photo Credit: Bryan Hainer
The concert then went to Cuong’s Extra(ordinarily) Fancy. The harpsichord shows that Baroque influence that Cuong talked about in his interview. The piece is very conversational, having one oboe be “fancy” and one be “extra fancy”. The use of multi-phonics here is genius as it creates a whole new voice that can mimic the first oboe, but is decidedly different. The conversation between the two soloists is common, but Cuong brings it to a new level using the extended technique.
Photo Credit: Phil Parsons
The concert ended with Beethoven’s First Symphony. As his first symphony, Beethoven builds on the great composers before him: Haydn and Mozart. Written at the turn of the nineteenth century, Beethoven began to break away from the traditional classical form, establishing himself as the preeminent composer in Europe.
For more information on the Albany Symphony and their upcoming events visit their website.
Brother Kody debuts today with “This is Right,” the first solo original music from Eddie Hotaling, guitarist and vocals for Albany’s Glass Pony. With a talented group of musicians lined up on the album, the solo indie-folk/rock project provides an outlet for music written and released as a result of quarantining this year.
Included on “This is Right” are Scott Apicelli (drums), Drew Costa (rhodes) and Ominous Seapods‘ Tom Pirozzi (bass) who help bring this song to life. A song about the day Hotaling’s sister got engaged, his (now) brother-in-law invited the family and friends down to Queens to be there for the surprise. “I am grateful that my sister married somebody who cares about her the way she deserves and I was inspired to write this song about that day.”
The name Brother Kody comes from Hotaling’s family dog, a Siberian Husky that he raised from a puppy when he was younger. The pup grew to be a part of the family, and the moniker Brother Kody stuck. Hotaling shares his thoughts on the release of “This is Right”:
I decided to lead off with this song just because it was recorded first. Originally, I had planned on doing a full album instead of just a single. This is one of the songs that was going to be on the album but I wanted to give it to my sister and her husband as a wedding gift so as the wedding got closer I decided to go into the studio to get it down first with the intention of starting the rest after. Things got busy and I kept pushing working on the album back but I had this song pretty much done so I decided to just release singles as I finished them instead of trying to get them all done before putting anything out.
“This is Right” was originally recorded at Blue Sky Recording in Delmar, NY in the fall of 2018, and free time in 2020 gave Hotaling a chance to add pieces to the arrangement and finish it up.
Artwork for the album is by talented Irish artist Mairéad Hannon, who Hotaling met on a trip to Galway, Ireland in 2018. “She has a very interesting style and I’m very grateful to her for letting me use this piece to go along with the song.”
Hotaling handles vocals on “This is Right,” as well as acoustic guitar, electric guitar, lap steel, percussion, and handled recording, production, mix and mastering of the track. For more info visit Brother Kody’s website.
Back in June, photographers working with NYS Music, with no live music to shoot, began looking at the venues we hold so dear. These independent music venues across New York State are in a battle for survival with the COVID-19 pandemic still not waning and relief held up in Congress.
Over the summer and fall we saw venues closed for the foreseeable future, including The Jazz Standard in Manhattan. Venues are rallying their supporters to help as best they can at this time, including The Palace Theatre in Albany offering up a stream of moe. on Friday, December 11.
Venues in New York and beyond are stuck in limbo, but they aren’t gone – not for good – so long as we can find resolution and relief at the state and national levels. The Heroes Act has passed in the House of Representatives, and there is still a chance for a relief bill to be passed before the end of December.
With the winter setting in, venues will continue to go virtual for live performances, waiting for the time that we can bid this great pause farewell and welcome crowds back.
We start this month’s photo gallery series in Central New York at The Stanley Theatre. Visit NIVA to find out how you can help venues across New York, and the country. We need to #saveourstages and preserve live music for when this is over.
Non-for-profit venues across upstate New York call for aid from Governor Cuomo and their state elected leaders during the COVID-19 crisis. They are calling for aid through their #lightsUPstateNY initiative, trying to bring light to the hardships these performing arts centers are facing.
Bardavon interior photo by Tim Lee.
According to Chris Silva, Executive Director at Bardavon 1869 Opera House, the new protocols, requirements and re-staffing caused by COVID-19 will require not only time and capital, but every month these closures continue the costs of these eleven venues add up to a collective $1,500,000 dollars, with no significant revenue to offset it. This is a huge amount of money to these smaller local economies. These venues hope to bring light to the reality of their dim situation, as many venues across the United States are pledged with Save Our Stages campaign.
The venues involved call for aid with the #lightsUPstateNY initiative are: The Bardavon in Poughkeepsie, UPAC in Kingston, Shea’s Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, RBTL’s Auditorium Theatre in Rochester, Smith Center for the Arts in Geneva, Landmark Theatre in Syracuse, Stanley Theatre in Utica, Proctors Collaborative in Schenectady, Palace Theatre in Albany, State Theatre in Ithaca, and the Clemens Center in Elmira.
These venues estimate the cost to reopen themselves, if a spring 2021 opening is possible, will be at least 15 million dollars – more if the “pause” caused by COVID-19 continues. As a group they bring over 250 million of collective, local economic impact to Upstate each year, which has come to an abrupt halt.
Silva explained the reasoning behind the union of #lightsUPstateNY initiative saying, “The large theatres of Upstate so often share similar realities. As we think about our restarts sometime in 2021, we decided to come together to speak with one voice about our needs and challenges as we get back to being at the heart of our cities and communities.”
All of the venues involved operate as 501(c)3 non-profit organizations – committed to serving their communities – and have worked together to create a network across Upstate for bands and theatrical performances to take place. They do this by offering a variety of live entertainment for all audiences, including concerts, comedy, dramatic and family events, as well as offer a mixed-use space for local performing groups, graduations, recitals and other presentations.
The hope of #lightsUPstateNY is to bring awareness to the dire need these venues are experiencing, while also calling on Governor Cuomo and their state elected leaders for aid.
Each Sunday evening from 7-9pm 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 new music from Elder Orange, Fine Grain 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.
Vermont’s Elder Orange has released a new recording titled, “Brick’s in the Bathwater.” This release is a fascinating sonic journey, evocative and head bobbing, full of emotional voices, brilliant guitar playing, melody weaving, and genre bending. The album is a series of connected tunes that all work as one piece of music, one that is very inventive and unique in a world of singles that occupy the popular music format. This bold step of creativity is worthy of far more attention. Available for streaming on Bandcamp.
Kicking off the show will be two new songs from Fine Grain. The first is a world premiere release of “Calculate,” available on Thursday, December 10, followed up by “Strings Attached.” Fine Grain is a weird punk/post-punk outfit out of the Capital District that doesn’t quite stick to genres. Their live shows feature antics, copious beer consumption and a lot of hair with a lot energy put into the music that even on record, they sound as though they’re playing in your living room.
EQXposure will also be featuring more music from Upstate Mixtape, Vol 1., a compilations of 518 artists, committed to amplifying Black voices and suppressing racism. One hundred percent of the sales of the release, will be distributed to black artists. Pick up a copy here.
Upstate Mixtape Vol 1. is part of antiracist grassroots fundraising efforts, spearheaded by Jammella Anderson. Among songs contributed to Vol 1. include demos, B-sides, album loose ends and more from a group that showcases the multifaceted nature of musicians in the 518. This week you’ll hear JB and Victory Soul Orchestra‘s “God Self Icon,” NXNS “Motherbrain,” The Age “Take a Dive,” and Wurliday “Clyde.”
The Empire State Youth Orchestra (ESYO) musicians will perform in the virtual Tutti! Festival over two weekends in December. It will feature twelve ensembles in eight live recorded concerts. All concerts will be streamed online to virtual audiences through ESYO’s Virtual Concert Hall.
The festival begins on December 3 with Beethoven’s First Symphony performed by the ESYO Symphony Classical Orchestra. The advanced Symphony Orchestra will perform works by Mozart including the Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute. ESYO Symphony Orchestra will also rediscover Dance in the Old Style by Hollywood composer Erich Korngold, The Serenade for Strings by Irish-American composer, Victor Herbert and Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos’ homage to Mozart Sinfonietta No. 1. On Saturday, December 12, members of the ESYO Jazz Orchestra will take the stage with Milestones by jazz legend Miles Davis and a jazzy take on the holiday favorite “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
A full list of concerts and repertoire is available online on their website.
The organization is excited to be able to provide incredible musical opportunities to ESYO students who are from throughout the Capital Region and beyond. This past fall, leaders at the organization developed creative and innovative ways the student musicians could come together, in person, to practice music, all while adhering to strict COVID-19 safe regulations. They have been practicing in small groups throughout the season.
“The pandemic forced us to use many tools that we didn’t realize we had and forced us to think out of the box in the way we design our programs, orchestras, rehearsals and concerts. For example, the chance to break up our big orchestra into chamber orchestras allows for a lot of repertoire opportunities that we would not have before. The fact that we are challenged by the schedule having to rehearse half of the orchestra in one room and the other half in another room forced us to engage with assistant conductors and instrument coaches that tremendously increased the personalized educational attention that our musicians would not receive otherwise,” said ESYO Music Director, Carlos Ágreda.
Georgia Burtt, a violinist in Symphony Orchestra who is homeschooled in Berne, also believes ESYO has shined during this time. “I think that the music instruction is great. When we were first quarantined back in March, ESYO continued online. We had some speakers talk to us about college, performance, and what life is like working as a professional musician. I thought that those were incredible. Now, with the in-person rehearsals, we can directly work with our conductors and sectional coaches. We are also live-streaming the rehearsals so those who are quarantined are able to still learn and participate in the rehearsals. Overall, I think ESYO has done an incredible job modifying in accordance with these new restrictions while still giving us students opportunities to learn and improve.”
ESYO has also kept its free, afterschool program called CHIME going strong, in the virtual world. CHIME musicians are engaging in a private lesson, a group practice and a music appreciation class each week. The cuts in NY State arts education funding have presented a significant challenge, but ESYO remains committed to providing enriched musical experiences for its youth. They are so grateful to all who have made generous contributions this fall, and are hoping that the community will continue to step up to help ensure that the CHIME students are able to keep making music through the winter.
Virtual Concert Schedule:
December 3 at 7:00pm: Symphony Classical
December 4 at 7:00pm: Repertory Romantic and String Orchestra
December 5 at 7:00pm: Repertory Strings and Youth Percussion
December 6 at 3:00pm: ESYO Wind Orchestra & Concertino Strings
December 10 at 7:00pm: ESYO Repertory Classical and String Orchestra
Darlene Love is set to live stream a holiday concert on Saturday, December 5. The Christmas icon’s holiday set starts at 8 p.m. ET, including her hit “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).”
Tickets are available for $35, and once purchased the performance is available to access until Christmas Day. A portion of the proceeds supports the Empire State Plaza Perfoming Arts Center.
Love is a Grammy Award Winner and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, recognized as “one of the greatest singers of all-time” by Rolling Stone Magazine. Through the years, Darlene has continued to captivate audiences worldwide with her warm, gracious stage presence and sensational performances. Dozens of hits including “He’s a Rebel,” “(Today I Met) The Boy I’m Gonna Marry,” “Marshmallow World” and her signature song, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” are featured (along with many others) in this one-night-only holiday performance.
From 1986 to 2014, Love performed “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” on almost every single pre-Christmas episode of David Letterman’s talk shows, Late Night and eventually The Late Show. The sole exception was in 2007, due to the writer’s strike.
After Letterman’s 2015 retirement from late night, Love moved her annual performance to The View and has continued the tradition there. On The View she’s often sung the song as a duet: partners have included Patti Labelle, Fantasia, Bryan Adams and Jason Derulo. Other artists to cover the song are U2, Joey Ramone, Cher, and fellow Christmas royalty Michael Bublé and Mariah Carey.
Love’s discography also extends beyond Christmas. With her 1960s girl group The Blossoms, she sang The Crystals’ “He’s a Rebel.” The group was touring and unable to make it to the studio, so producer Phil Spector had The Blossoms perform it under The Crystals’ name. Love’s other high-charting songs include “He’s Sure the Boy I Love,” also credited to The Crystals, and “Wait ‘Til My Bobby Gets Home.” In 2013, Love appeared in 20 Feet From Stardom, an Oscar-winning documentary about the lives and careers of backup singers. Along with her co-stars and crew, Love took home the 2015 Grammy for Best Music Film.
In 2011, Love was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She performed “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” with Bruce Springsteen, and Bette Midler, who also appeared in 20 Feet From Stardom, honored her with a speech. Love has also acted, playing the wife of Danny Glover’s character in all four Lethal Weapon films.
For more information on Darlene Love and her live stream of “Love for the Holidays,” see The Egg’s website.
The Albany Symphony announced that their world premier recording of Christopher Theofanidis‘ Concerto for Viola and Chamber Orchestra has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Classical Instrumental Solo category. The Concerto was recorded on January 8, 2018 at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall and released by Albany Records. This is the fifth Grammy Nomination in seven years for the Albany Symphony.
“We are thrilled to receive this nomination, which brings attention to Christopher Theofanidis’ magnificent concerto, inspired by Navajo poetry,” said Music Director David Alan Miller. “It’s not every day that a viola concerto gets recognized, but this is arguably the finest concerto for the instrument written in many years. We are so grateful to Richard O’Neill, our astounding viola soloist, and to Silas Brown, our extraordinary producer and engineer. I deeply appreciate the work of our brilliant Albany Symphony musicians. Thanks also to our staff, board and friends at Albany Records, and to all our supporters.”
Composer Christopher Theofanidis also expressed his appreciation. “I was so delighted to receive the news. Richard put so much of himself into the performances and recording of the concerto, and David Alan Miller and the Albany Symphony’s commitment to excellence doing new work shines through in this announcement. It is an honor to have the piece nominated,” he said.
Portrait of Christopher Theofanidis
The Concerto for Viola and Chamber Orchestra was originally written for Kim Kashkashian who sent Theofanidis a collection of Navajo poems that were wildly different in character but had in common a supernatural sense of nature and an extremely evocative vocabulary. Each of the four movements is serious in sentiment, in turns foreboding and volatile, melancholic and questioning, lyrical and dramatic. Theofanidis wrote this work during the tragedy and turmoil of 9/11, starting the piece before and finishing it afterward, and was influenced by being in midtown Manhattan that day.
Viola soloist Richard O’Neill said, “In this dark time for musicians the world over, to receive this nomination for Chris’ moving and important work brought me to tears. David’s vision and unstoppable energy, the beautiful musicians of the Albany Symphony, and the great work of Silas Brown; these forces came together to create a dream team the envy of any musician. I am so incredibly lucky to have such friends and colleagues. In the absence of live performance throughout the US, I hope this recording can give comfort and joy to all that listen.”
The Albany Symphony recording of John Corigliano’s Conjurer with world-famous percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie won the 2013 GRAMMY for Best Classical Instrumental Solo. The Albany Symphony was then nominated in 2015 and twice in 2019.
