As lighting strikes, it is evident Sydney Irving belongs. Although, you’re just getting to know the high school senior, her name will hold a heavier weight as time moves on. She will fill your music library, as you come to realize Sydney Irving‘s on the rise.
Today’s “Rain” sheds New Light
The Syracuse songwriter released her music video “Rain” to back the single that debuted late last month.
The premise of “Rain,” is it’s usually a bad thing and you want to get away from it. But, the rain is purifying. It washes away. You step into the light and feel better than before.
Sydney Irving – On “Rain”
“Rain” marks a many first for Sydney. It is the first storyline video of her short career. “For Hanna, Emily and Justin, it’s a little love triangle kind of thing. We had to direct everything we wanted done.” Interestingly enough she remains out of the limelight, tastefully, hanging back with the band.
Rockstar On The Rise
Based on her websites bio, Irving drew from the likes of Taylor Swift, but her roots are much deeper. Infected with the classic rock bug. The Doors, Tom Petty, Ryan Adams and other greats influence her musicianship. Currently she is hooked on Raising Sand, a Plant/Krauss duo album that was ironically released October 23, when Irving was only four years old.
Why Sydney you ask? It’s her grasp on past and future music generations and bridging them together. Her sheer humbleness. It’s her retro take on the music industry, reeling us back to how things were done. She has a plan and she executes.
The 17-year-old is combining the above influence with modern hooks to develop a sound more fitting for her voice. Irving and her team have another single to release in November titled “What Have You Done.” All of which will be apart of a December EP release. “For the new record it’s an endavour into more rock and roll,” said Irving.
“Rain” is for sale on Irving’s website, on a 100-count limited edition, signed-CD run. It can be purchased on iTunes and Amazon music. Today it will be released alongside the video on major streaming platforms.
Hidden details amidst an over-exposed storyline hints at Irvings style. Her Ziggy Stardust alter-ego may be coming though with those lightning rod earrings. The Mojo, her band is refined, yet capable to unwind into a catchy rock bliss.
Sydney’s Standout Moments
Big standout moments are self fulfilling in their own right for Irving. When asked where she wanted be in a year or so down the line, Irving calmly had no shift from her current thought. She is grateful for the journey, happy to be balancing music and school, beyond humble and appreciative of her team behind her. “My management team, Grace Musicians Group, have helped me get to where I am today.” Irving seemingly stumbled upon Breedlove Guitars after her dad got her a second instrument
I’ve always love music, my dad will always have a record playing. I think the love came from a young age. I love the connection you can have with people and music. Theres been a couple times where I’ve been out playing and people say they came to the restaurant, or bar, just to see me.
Aside from high honor roll, Irving has been nominated for three SAMMY Awards and recently claimed the title of Young Adult Artist of the Year at the International Singer Songwriter Association Awards. She stood out last month against 1,300 talented nominations, in Atlanta, Ga.
Irving give Barns Courtney a run for his money on “You and I.”
If “Rain” doesn’t have you on the hook take it direct from the songwriter yourself: “I would say – come check it out, you might like it.”
October 20, 2010 was Phish’s first performance in Utica, and they made it as memorable as possible. Having never played in “Sin City,” Phish had plenty in store for fans in Utica, amid a Fall 2010 tour that fans flocked to, selling out nearly the entire tour and making tickets for the 5,700 person capacity room the highest in demand of the tour, short of Halloween.
Fan made badge from Fall Tour 2010 – design by Jiggs
Phish had never played Utica before, although Trey Anastasio was no stranger, having performed thrice previously, once with Oysterhead in 2001 and twice with Trey Anastasio Band in 2002 and 2005. Returning to the Utica Auditorium, Anastasio blended Phish’s “Guyute” with Utica for “GuyUtica,” which many fans dubbed the unofficial name for the show, and led to a memorable weaving in and out of “Guyute” over the night.
If you were hanging outside ahead of the show, you saw an ample Lot scene, with a nice breakdown of the evening here from Coventry Phish. Fans celebrated outside, with Utica native Amy Fischer celebrating her 100th Phish show, and what a show it was. A delectable set that reference “Guyute” all night, thanks in part to fan Jesse Feitel, who rode the rail with a homemade ‘Guy-Utica’ sign that hung on the rail facing the band.
The energy was alive and palpable in the tiny auditorium this evening, giving it all the feels of an old school show. The band seems to pick up on this right away and launches into “My Soul,” a blues cover that fits nicely in the opening slot. The tone shifts from blues to rock with the “Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan,” still a fairly new tune at the time, that comes next. A typically rousing Trey Anastasio guitar solo puts the finishing touches on this one. Then comes only the second “Vultures” of the year to date, with the additional “potato to the throat” lyric thrown in for good measure.
While “Vultures” does yield a somewhat brief “Type 1” jam, things don’t seem to really stretch out until the “Wolfman’s Brother” that follows. A brief vocal jam transpires at the end of the composed section before giving way to the first real extended improvisation of the night. Keyboardist Page McConnell makes his presence felt on the clavinet early and often throughout this one. Trey even finds space to fit in a “Streets of Cairo” tease as the jam progresses before immediately shifting to another cover song, this time The Talking Heads’ “Cities.” This produces the first hometown reference of the night as the “dry ice” is changed to a “Genesee” factory. Much of the funk established in the preceding “Wolfman’s” carries right over into this one with another bass and clav-heavy jam. Now that the table has been set, so to speak, what comes next is one of the true highlights of the Phish 3.0 era, a sure sign to many that the band was finally “back” from its near five-year hiatus.
photo by Andy Hill
Anastasio begins strumming the opening melody, soon joined by drummer Jon Fishman, and the band is off and running with the show’s namesake, “Guyute.” The early, lightning quick pace and frenetic lights bouncing around the small auditorium seemed to create a verified frenzy in the room, leading to a raucous cheer at the end of this one. Even before the “David Bowie” that comes next, Anastasio is already teasing the main “Guyute” melody repeatedly and eventually bassist Mike Gordon joins in too. It’s fairly clear early on that this is no standard “Bowie.”
After a flawless run through the composed section, Anastasio drops one more “Guyute” tease before the music comes to a near standstill and the band collectively starts teasing “Wilson.” It only takes the crowd a measure or two before they begin the customary “Wilson” chants with Anastasio then singing lines from “Guyute” in response. They would do this one more time as well, jumping out of the “Bowie” jam to go back and tease “Wilson” briefly before reentering right where they left off.
Naturally, “Wilson” proper is the next selection, giving the amped up crowd one more time to chant. More teases and quotes abound in this one as well, it’s as if “Wilson” is being played in the key of “Guyute.” Finally, a reprieve of sorts comes through in “McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters” that produces a fairly mellow keys-driven jam that’s free of any nonsense. “I Saw It Again” sees even more “Guyute” teases in a feedback heavy outro jam that Anastasio eventually steers into a phenomenal set closing “Run Like An Antelope” with, you guessed it, even more “Guyute” quotes.
photo by Andy Hill
The show could have ended right then and there and there would have likely been little resistance. Instead, Phish follows it up with a set that may not be as memorable as the first one, but certainly does nothing to diminish this Utica show’s legacy. Just like the first one, the second set begins with a cover selection, this time The Who’s “Drowned” in its only performance of the tour. McConnell takes the reigns on this relatively brief jam before Anastasio seamlessly nudges it towards “Sand.” The pulsating, driving rhythm supplied by Gordon on bass fuel this one throughout in what’s really the most extended jam of the second set. In fact, it almost sounds slightly ripcord-ed as instead of exploring further, they shift gears into “Theme From the Bottom.”
“Axilla” and then “Birds of a Feather” follow, each doing their part to raise the second set energy back up. “Birds” especially produces a brief yet fierce jam with more splendid interplay between Anastasio and McConnell. Afterwards, the band lets Page sing “Tela,” only its fourth performance since their return last year.
photo by Andy Hill
“Axilla” and then “Birds of a Feather” follow, each doing their part to raise the second set energy back up. “Birds” especially produces a brief yet fierce jam with more splendid interplay between Anastasio and McConnell. Afterwards, the band lets Page sing “Tela,” only its fourth performance since their return last year.
The closing sequence to this show is quite something too. It begins with “Split Open and Melt,” a song that certainly has the capability of getting dark and deep. After a few early minor hiccups, it appears to be going in that direction. But instead, the music begins to take on a lighter tone with Anastasio singing something else lightly over the top of it. It takes the rest of the band a little while to join in, but before long, they veer into a quick version of “Have Mercy.” This is all but a quick pit stop as after one verse, Phish switches back to improv mode and begins the jam anew, taking it into a blissful new direction. After this peters out, Anastasio begins the (quick) into to “Piper” for one last dive into the unknown. One more relentless jam ensues, replete with a “Birds of a Feather” tease. Slowly but surely, the closing drum beat to “Split Open and Melt” soon arises from the end of this, finishing up the sequence in grand style.
Poster by Ryan Kerrigan
They waste no time before jumping into a grandiose and beautifully patient “Slave to the Traffic Light” that then closes the set in fitting fashion. As for an encore selection, Phish went back to cover well for another longtime favorite in Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times, Bad Times” and a version that near blows the roof off the Utica Memorial Auditorium. And with that, a show for the ages was born.
Phish Utica Memorial Auditorium – Utica, NY 10/20/10
Set 1: My Soul, Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan, Vultures, Wolfman’s Brother[1] -> Cities[2] > Guyute, David Bowie, Wilson[3] > McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters > Saw It Again -> Run Like an Antelope[4]
Set 2: Drowned -> Sand > Theme From the Bottom, Axilla > Birds of a Feather, Tela > Split Open and Melt -> Have Mercy > Piper -> Split Open and Melt > Slave to the Traffic Light
Encore: Good Times Bad Times
[1] Vocal jam. [2] Alternate “Genesee Factory” lyric. [3] Lyric changed to “I must inquire Guyute.” [4] Trey teased Guyute instead of saying “Marco Esquandolas.”
kurt.riley+praxis are best known for shaping the alternative music scene in Central and Upstate New York. Riley has loved and played music from a young age; his influences include glam rock, Moroccan ritual music, new wave, 1930s pop standards, and Eighties post-punk. After a pause of a few years for a college degree, Riley started developing concept albums featuring other-wordly characters – Kismet in 2016, and Tabula Rasa in 2017.
“Free,” releasing today, October 9, is the fourth track from Riley’s current ongoing project, Chrome Empire. The album is built around its main character – an android living in a dark future – and uses science fiction themes to address real-world events.
In “Free,” the android (portrayed by Riley in the video) has gained self-awareness, and is captured by a monolithic megacorporation seeking to prevent the rise of intelligent machines. An employee of the corporation has been put in place to get him to talk.
Previous singles released from the Chrome Empire project are “Future Shock,” “Say You Love Me,” and “Evergreen.” The story arc starts with “Future Shock” that sets the dark, futuristic scene. The android, having a mind that came from a human a long time ago, remembers his love and tries to find her (“Say You Love Me”). In “Evergreen,” he is trying to escape the control of the megacorporation and finds footage of an evergreen Earth of the past.
In each single, Riley has chosen to include non-human characters which was “Much more fun – and more palatable – than talking about our current reality in a plain manner. Plus, I get to dress up!” he said.
There will be at least a dozen releases in total, scheduled through the rest of 2020 and 2021. After “Free,” the next one coming up (scheduled for early November) is called “Get Connected.”
“Free” is scheduled to air at 5:00 PM EST on Friday, October 9, 2020 on the kurt.riley+praxis YouTube Channel.
When I was young, I didn’t understand My grandfather was a preacher man Told me to read the bible Crucial for my survival Grandmother joined him, now they sleep Keeping to the vow, so dark and deep While I maintain location Staring at revelation But I’ll never be free Oh lord, no, I’ll never be free Not me Leaders are debating over déjeuner Waters start to rise at the chestnut tree Only the weak are humble So they shall let it crumble On the horizon, the horsemen ride Stocked up my rations and I’m locked inside Stun my profane synapses All while the world collapses And I’ll never be free Oh Christ, no, I’ll never be free Not me
Kurt Riley and Orange Julians come together as the The Beforetimes as they released their debut single, “Time Machine” on September 18. The track was written and produced in equal by both Kurt Riley and Orange Julians. Having met as children, both artists grew up to write rock operas, and now have reunited for this joint project. The Beforetimes have also uploaded a music video for their new single.
Kurt Riley has released records produced by Beyoncé/FKA Twigs/Run the Jewels collaborator BOOTS and Grammy Award-winning engineer Will Russell. Riley has also appeared at the CFCU Summer Concert Series, Music Is Art Buffalo, and at the Ithaca Festival. Under the moniker Orange Julians, Julian DeLice had worked on plenty of solo material and has written, produced and directed a stage play called “The Renegade Opera” (benefitting the Elton John AIDS Foundation). Julian DeLice’s music was named “Vermont’s freshest synth-pop” by 7 Days Newspaper, and DeFelice is now recording his fourth LP.
The song was remotely produced across over 2,000 miles and the first release as the “The Beforetimes” begin a side project that will be featured alongside their solo work. For more information on “The Beforethetimes”, their new single, and their respective individual profiles, visit the Apple Music, Spotify, links and both of Kurt and Julien’s websites.
Standing Now is the latest project released by the Jess Novak Band on September 27. Jess Novak, a resident of Syracuse and New Jersey native, sings lead and also plays violin, guitar, and piano. The other members include Byron Cage on drums, Anthony Saturno on electric guitar, Jabare Mckinstry on bass, Gavin George on drums, and Nick Fields on trumpet. Altogether, the dynamic group plays off each other’s energy to create an album with raw musical camaraderie.
Photo by Daniel Ware
“Northern Lights” is a ballad about losing your way but not giving up. The background vocals from Nick Fields and guitar solo add a heightened level of reminiscent feelings. “Northern Lights” provides a happy medium balance between the tempo of “Place of Solitude” and “Match.”
“Place of Solitude” highlights the band’s versatility between songs and provides a necessary break from the up-tempo beat. Anthony Saturno’s backing vocals takes the lead from Jess Novak’s to provide a poignant message of hope during the tough times of a pandemic. The effortless transition from violin to trumpet solo elevates the message of taking advantage of self-discovery with the lyrics “Never feel alone.”
Complemented by drums and guitar, the upbeat tempo of “Match” creates an eccentric mood. The beat leaves listeners toe-tapping and wanting to get up and dance. The violins match the fast-paced tempo and create a new level of fire expressed through Novak’s singing. Overall, Standing Now is a quality album that easily allows listeners to fall in love with their unique style of pop, rock, and soul music.
The album was meant to be released in May, and between storms and colds, the band was nearing completion. Then the pandemic hit, but good things come to those who wait. The Jess Novak Band are clearly proud of their latest example of how their band has grown and worked to build each other up.
Live at the Drive-In announced performances by Dirty Heads, Almost Queen, and the Disco Biscuits at the Lafayette Apple Festival Grounds. The shows will take place throughout October with Dirty Heads on the 24 and Disco Biscuits on the 29, 30, and 31. The shows will follow social distancing guidelines made by the State of NY while providing some much needed live music.
The Lafayette Apple Festival Grounds usually hosts the LaFayette Apple Festival but due to COVID-19 the festival unforchinitly had to be cancelled this year. They are making room for five nights of musical fun. Doors open at 5PM for all the shows and they actually start at 7PM. Tickets are on sale already for the Dirty heads and Disco Biscuit shows and can be purchased here.
The Dirty Heads are a mix of hip-hop, reggae, and rock. They are a California bred and raised group with a similar sound to Sublime. They formed back in 2003 and their members throughout the years include Jared Watson, Dustin Bushnell, Matt Ochoa, David Foral, Jon Olazabal, Shawn Hagood, and Josh Freese. They have seven studio albums and have hit the Billboard Top 200 multiple times.
The Disco Biscuits are a well known and loved jam band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is made up of band members Allen Aucoin, Marc “Brownie” Brownstein, Jon “The Barber” Gutwillig, and Aron Magner and formed in 1995. The band is known for incorporating elements from a bunch of different musical genres. Their sound has a base of electronic and rock and has been described as trance fusion in the past.
For more information of the Live at the Drive-In performances visit Lafayette Apple Festival Grounds website and Creative Concerts.
Jimkata announces new album titled Bonfires which is anticipated to be released in Spring of 2021. The new album announcement comes on the coattails of the band dropping multiple singles this summer after their indefinite hiatus back in 2017. Bonfires is Jimkata’s first studio album since 2016’s In Motion.
Jimkata. Photo provided by press release.
The new album will include 10 tracks according to their press release. The album will be released as a series of singles every month with an accompanying visuals and merch line for each song. Jimkaka hopes the album Bonfires highlight themes of uncertainty, being in limbo, and looking for an anchor of hope in these trying times.
Three singles have been released so far off the anticipated album. The three singles, “Wanna Go,” “Wait for You,” and the title-track “Bonfires” already nod to the themes Jimkata is trying to capture within the album. “Wanna Go” focuses on perception versus reality particularly in the times of social media. “Wait for You” touches on the feelings of being dejected and the unknown of what the future holds. “Bonfires” is all about the vulnerability people feel when they are facing uncertain times and the reflexive tendency to seek out the comfort of nostalgia that happens as a result.
Jimkata is a three-piece anthemic, synth-washed, electro-rock band based out of both Ithaca and Los Angeles. They had grown a large grassroots following before taking a two and a half year hiatus. They have released six studio albums all with their signature swirling synths, infectious pop hooks and candid lyrics.
For more information on Bonfires and Jimkata, and to pre-order limited edition vinyl of the new album and other merchandise, visit Jimkata’s website and stay tuned for updates. Enjoy Jimkata from their final perfomance in Albany in May of 2016 below.
Apple butter toast is nice, but how about apples and Biscuits this Halloween? Lafayette Apple Festival Grounds, in conjunction with Creative Concerts, are bringing the Disco Biscuits to Syracuse for a 3-night Drive-In run over Halloween weekend, October 29-31.
The Disco Biscuits 3-Night Halloween run will offer fans the opportunity to safely enjoy live music while following social distancing guidelines. A car pass provides a designated space for a standard passenger vehicle and entry for a maximum of four people per vehicle.
Concertgoers will be able to enjoy the full Disco Biscuits concert production within their designated space for the duration of the event. Fans may bring their own prepared food and beverages to enjoy during the show.
Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, September 25 at 10AM ET. For more information visit CCTix.com.
The LaFayette area of New York produces a great deal of apples amid a rural atmosphere, rolling hills, and beautiful fall foliage. Lafayette Apple Festival is one of the Northeast’s premier arts and crafts shows, and is within walking distance of the site where the Cardiff Giant was discovered in 1869.
The Disco Biscuits played a very memorable Halloween in Syracuse in 2015 at Crouse-Hinds Theatre when they put the disco in Disco Biscuits. The show featured the Philly Stray Horns in the second set, along with vocalist Alita Moses who sang on covers of “Get Down On It,” “Funky Town,” “You Should be Dancing,” “Born to be Alive” and “Give it to me Baby.” Listen to the full show here and watch the first set below.
Martin Sexton brought his “Outdoor Shows” Tour to the Fingerlakes Drive-In movie theater in Auburn, NY Saturday evening. With all the restrictions in place due to COVID-19, concert goers were limited to their vehicles and were required to practice social distancing.
It was a brisk night for a concert with temperatures around 40 degrees F. Martin Sexton takes the miniature stage that was set up and greets the crowd telling them “This is the first time I’ve had to wear a jacket while performing.”
The moment he began playing the notes on his guitar brought an overwhelming since of joy as this was the first time most, if not all of the people in attendance have heard live music in at least 6 months. The crowd was cheering him on from their vehicles, shouting “I love you Marty!” and many other words of encouragement. Sexton continued “I was wondering if I was going to still be able to perform these shows because it has been so long, but turns out it’s just like riding a bike.”
Video from Sexton’s performance at Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield, CT
Sexton standing on the stage by himself with no crowd directly around him and a large projection of him performing on the movie screen brought a bittersweet feeling – concerts have changed so much from what we remember them being, but at least they are starting to slowly happen.
Overall the safety precautions were followed very well, the staff all did a great job keeping everyone informed of the regulations in place, and every single person there was following them. This is a great sign, and hopefully one that can continue to allow more concerts to be happening in innovative ways.
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the whole world, either directly, or indirectly. As a response to the pandemic, Governor Andrew Cuomo, has passed legislation that the states hope will help regulate COVID-19’s impact on the state. While guidelines for life during a pandemic are important, the broadness of certain rules has put many small businesses at risk of extinction. 443 social club
One of those venues, The 443 Social Club & Lounge in Syracuse is a place where those fond of live music can appreciate the ambience of a nice night out. A hub of live entertainment in their town, this restaurant seats 88 people but, as a result of the pandemic, it has operated with only 36-person capacity to meet state guidelines.
While the reduced customer base hurt business, it had allowed a mom-and-pop style business to stay afloat. That is until, a new wrinkle in New York state’s coronavirus guidelines for bars, restaurants and similar venues in New York state prohibits them from offering live music that customers pay for separately. The rule forced an immediate halt to The 443’s business. While they offer eatery, their main form of attraction is their live music.
Although we have all had to deal with the effects from COVID-19, actions like this towards small businesses still tug at the heart, knowing that hardworking individuals are in danger of losing their businesses, through no fault of their own.
The 443 Social Club & Lounge has chosen to take action, posting a letter to Governor Cuomo on their website that details, among other things, their compliance to COVID-19 rules, their determined attempts at keeping their business afloat, as well as the city’s mishandling of its small businesses. The letter is heartwarming and brings up questions, including ‘What was Governor Cuomo thinking with this new rule?’, and ‘How could they not have implemented any verbiage for small-capacity lounges?’ Let’s hope The 443 and other small businesses get an opportunity to get back on their feet, sooner rather than later.
Read below for The 443 Social Club & Lounge letter to Governor Cuomo, as originally posted on their website and socials.
Dear Mr. Cuomo –
I am a small business owner in Central New York. My husband and I operate an 88 seat cafe/bar that features listening room style acoustic performances. We had just celebrated our one year anniversary when COVID-19 hit.
When we closed our doors on March 15, I understood we would likely be shuttered for at least a few months. I understood we would be among the very last businesses allowed to reopen. There was a certain relief in letting go and accepting it, in understanding it was completely beyond my control. I had faith we would receive some kind of aid to help get us through, and for while we did.
I watched your daily press conferences religiously. With the vacuum in national leadership, I was grateful to be living in NY, grateful we had someone taking charge of the situation. Your no-nonsense, fact-based daily briefings were oddly comforting, even when NY’s numbers were high and the news you were sharing certainly wasn’t good.
Spring turned into summer and New York began it’s cautious, phased reopen.
We were busy reimagining our business so we’d be ready to go once CNY made it through the first few phases. We knew we would be facing an entirely new reality and there wasn’t a single aspect of our business that didn’t get retooled.
You can find the complete outline of what we did HERE.
We are classified as a restaurant, so we planned to reopen when indoor dining resumed in Phase 4. I checked with Empire State Development at the end of June to clarify the rules on live music. While we are classified as a restaurant, music is definitely our main focus. I was told it was allowed as “small scale entertainment”.
Well, it doesn’t get much smaller scale than our place, especially since we were going to be operating at about 40% capacity – just 36 people. We waited another month just to be sure numbers didn’t spike with everyone moving around again before we started planning a very limited schedule.
And then things got weird.
You declared food must be ordered by anyone who wanted an alcoholic beverage. The intention was to keep people seated, I get that, but keeping people seated was not an issue at our place to begin with. Our guests were anxious to comply with the rules, but not always hungry when they arrived. So, sometimes they placed to-go orders to eat later, which didn’t really accomplish anything. It disrupted the natural rhythm of service, where guests used to relax and enjoy their first drink before ordering, and worst of all, it meant the entire room ordered their food at exactly the same time. It was a logistical nightmare for our tiny food prep area and I had to schedule another person to help at a time when we could least afford it.
But, we were settling into a groove and figuring it all out. We planned to take advantage of the last 6 weeks of good weather and outdoor shows when you dropped the hammer.
On August 18 I learned about the new SLA rules prohibiting us from advertising or charging a fee for live music. I read it, then reread it, incredulous.
Prior to COVID, almost all our shows had a fee associated with them. It’s the only way the business model works financially in a small room and it’s important to us that everyone is paid fairly. With drastically reduced capacity, cover charges and tickets are more important than ever. We thought more venues charging for live music was one of the few bright spots in this whole mess…it’s healthy for our music scene to put a financial value back into the experience. And obviously, tickets are the best way to control a crowd.
The ban on advertising music is astonishingly cruel. We are all doing our level best to make our limited capacity work and now you’re telling us we cannot advertise to fill the few seats we do have? Are we are supposed to just open our doors and hope for the best?
We closed our doors again, wasting thousands of dollars we spent to reopen.
Governor Cuomo, we are DROWNING.
We are frantically treading water to keep our noses above the surface until (hopefully) some federal aid comes through. You looked at us, and instead of throwing us a life preserver you handed us a cinder block and told us to keep treading water.
The last 6 weeks of warm weather might have sustained our businesses for a bit longer, but the new guidelines have taken away even that flimsy lifeline.
In your August 9 press conference, the very last question was about bringing back live entertainment and Broadway. You said there were no plans to reopen “Broadway and other indoor, high-density arenas”.
And this is the main point of my letter.
“Live Entertainment” is far more than Broadway and far more than “high-density arenas”…and literally nobody is suggesting we open those things right now.
It is small rooms like mine that don’t even come near the 50 person gathering limit.
It is wineries and breweries who have acres of wide-open space to spread out their guests.
It is the venues who cut their capacity down to almost nothing and are doing a hybrid of a small live performance + paid live stream.
It is the rooms that moved all their events to their parking lot or back yard.
It’s different for everyone, but tickets and advertising are fundamentally necessary whether we are trying to fill 20 seats, 200 seats, or 2000.
And yes, live entertainment is also crowded rooms and mosh pits and huge amphitheaters packed full of people. We aren’t asking for that. Nobody is asking for that. We are asking you to allow hundreds of small businesses across New York State to be allowed to reopen and run their venues with all reasonable precautions in place. We have spent thousands of dollars to adapt to do it as safely as possible because we understand and respect how serious COVID-19 is.
But you know what else is serious?
Losing a business we’ve invested our life savings into. Putting our staff out of work. Our city losing one of its few dedicated music venues. Musicians losing a place to ply their craft. Our community of music lovers losing their gathering place.
You have told us we have 99.2% compliance with bars and restaurants right now. Why are the 99.2% paying such a steep price for the non-compliant .8%?
We have waited patiently throughout this whole saga and watched every other industry open up without any corresponding spikes in cases. For the most part, we haven’t even been part of the conversation. But time is running out. Many of us will be closing our doors for good in the next few weeks.
We are about to become collateral damage in the war on COVID-19, and Governor Cuomo – I know this is not your intention.
I know you have a lot going on and “live music” probably sounds like a hobby people are supposed to give up once they get out of college. WE ARE MORE THAN THAT. We are musicians, venue owners, sound and light techs, production, security, hospitality. We are savvy, smart, creative, and ridiculously hardworking. We feed other businesses like hotels, restaurants, and shops, plus our everyday vendors – trash, payroll, insurance, linen service, food, and liquor. We are the first ones to donate and support fundraisers for our neighbors in need. We are a port in the storm where you can forget about all that’s wrong in the world, if only for a few hours.
We are respectfully asking for the chance to try and salvage our businesses before it’s too late.
