One of the true gems of southwestern New York on Chautauqua Lake is the Chautauqua Institution. There you can find a blend of arts programming, educational and religious opportunities and recreational activities are available to those who visit the grounds during the year. And every few years, the music event Jazz at Chautauqua is part of the annual programming.
The Institution, originally the Chautauqua Lake Sunday School Assembly, was founded in 1874 as an educational experiment in out-of-school, vacation learning. It was successful and broadened almost immediately beyond courses for Sunday school teachers to include academic subjects, music, art and physical education.
Thanks to Jazz Lives, who consider Jazz at Chautauqua 2013 “another unforgettable interlude of music and friendship,” we bring you a selection of ballads from the September 22, 2013 Jazz at Chautauqua performances. A medley of ballads began and ended the music-filled weekend, including “Easy Living,” “Daydream,” “Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man” and “I Know Why (And So Do You).” Featured players include Marty Grosz (guitar), Harry Allen (tenor sax), Dan Block (clarinet), Bob Havens (trombone) and Duke Heitger (trumpet).
Later, ballads including “My Funny Valentine,” “Please,” “Laura,” “If We Ever Meet Again” (Horace Gerlach) and “Sophisticated Lady” seem to tell the full range of relationship through their titles. Selections are peformed by Randy Reiinhart (cornet/trumpet), Andy Schumm (cornet/trumpet), Andy Stein (saxophone), Marty Grosz (guitar), and Rossano Sportiello (piano).
From 2009, enjoy “Chinatown,” performed by Pete Siers (drums), Frank Tate (string bass), Ehud Asherie (piano), Bob Havens (trombone), Dan Block (clarinet), and Duke Heitger (trumpet).
Today’s Dead-trospective takes us to a Glens Falls Grateful Dead show at the Civic Center played 41 years ago. August of 1979 was interesting time for the Grateful Dead. New keyboardist Brent Mydland was still getting himself acclimated, having joined the band in April. This is only his 19th show, but his second time performing in New York with the Dead after they played Broome County Arena in Binghamton in May.
1979 featured a lot of short tours spread out over the course of the year. This would be the opener of one of them, a six-show tour in the Northeast with the last three at Madison Square Garden. This is the first time the Dead played the Civic Center. They would come back and play a single show the next three years as well.
The show begins with “Promised Land,” a Chuck Berry cover and “Dire Wolf.” It’s a fairly pedestrian 1-2 opening punch with plenty of post-song tuning. Bob Weir’s “Cassidy” follows, now in its new form with Mydland on backing vocals.
After some more tuning and indecision, things begin to take off with “Loser,” the Garcia-sung card playing saga. Jerry has a little fun with the lyrics on this one as the “Ace of Diamonds” comes up once instead of the usual Queen. The recording gets a little bass-heavy in the brief jam that follows but is well worth it. A typically poignant Garcia solo on top of everything else seems to genuinely excite the Civic Center crown.
A brief patch of the AUD recording doesn’t deter from a “Peggy-O” that hits all the right spots with Garcia’s vocals in top form. The first set also has a spot for newcomer Brent Mydland’s “Easy to Love You,” only the second one ever played. Afterwards, Bob Weir gives a little “love” to the locals in “New Minglewood Blues” with a change of lyrics to “New York women.”
This being another transitional period for the Dead, new songs and playing styles would continue to emerge. “Lost Sailor” had only been played four times prior to this, debuting earlier in the month. But this show in Glens Falls would feature the first ever “Saint of Circumstance” as it blended in immediately afterwards, making it sound almost like one song, which it would continue to do for years. This is really the last multi-song composition purposely crafted by the band.
A slow to start “Shakedown Street” begins the second set but it soon turns into a boisterous one with plenty of Garcia-fueled funk. The next song would be the return of a forgotten hero with only the second “Greatest Story Ever Told” since it was shelved towards the end of 1974. Garcia seems to tease “Black Peter” afterwards, a sign of things to come, before the “Ship of Fools” that follows.
The recording slips back to the AUD source towards the end of the stretched out “Estimated Prophet” that follows. But this give a great insight to the feel of the room. Swaths of people can be heard clapping along to the “Eyes of the World” that Garcia transitions to frenetically. This one is uptempo and bouncy from the get go with Mydland dazzling on the electric keyboard.
The highlight of the show comes later in the second set with a remarkable transition from the “Drums” section to “Not Fade Away.” The whole band is locked in atop an infectious rhythm as Garcia continues to pull all sorts of tones out from his bag of tricks. It’s a powerful segue, and executed perfectly, as the jam continues right through “Not Fade Away.”
Fittingly, the show is bookended with “Around and Around,” another Chuck Berry cover. Perhaps curfew was an issue as there does not appear to be any record of an encore for this show. But these two sets would pack enough of a punch on their own with new material and some exquisite second set jamming.
The Grateful Dead would travel to Rochester after this show, for a show at Holleder Stadium. But it’s clear they found a nice new place to play in Glens Falls, the music proves it. Upstate New York fans wouldn’t have to wait too long for a reunion though. The band would return in May next year for another masterclass in psychedelic rock.
Grateful Dead 8/31/79 Glens Falls Civic Center – Glens Falls, NY
Set 1: The Promised Land, Dire Wolf , Cassidy, Loser, El Paso, Peggy-O, Easy To Love You, New Minglewood Blues, Althea, Lost Sailor > Saint Of Circumstance > Deal
Set 2: Shakedown Street, Greatest Story Ever Told, Ship Of Fools, Estimated Prophet > Eyes Of The World > Drums > Not Fade Away > Black Peter > Around And Around
Recording starts with brief AUD patch before switching to SBD source. Patches also heard in “Peggy-O,” “Minglewood,” “Estimated Prophet” and “Eyes of the World.”
LOCKN’ Festival is officially being postponed to October 1-3, 2021 due to COVID-19. The festival had originally planned to take place in June 19-21 of 2020, was delayed to October 2-4 of 2020 in hopes the virus would subside, but was officially postponed until 2021 on August 29, 2020.
The 8th annual LOCKN’ Festival will take place at Infinity Downs & Oak Ridge Farm on LOCKN’s 387-acre property located at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Arrington, VA. The LOCKN’ 2021 festival will mark an all-star celebration of Phil Lesh’s upcoming 81st birthday, with the legendary musician performing alongside an array of famous friends and special guests over the three-day event. There will also be a special “Steal Your Thursday” which will kick off the festival weekend on Thursday, September 30, 2021.
A complete artist lineup and additional ticket information will be announced soon. Individuals who already purchased LOCKN’ 2020 tickets can obtain a full refund for tickets and camping accommodations or choose to have their ticket rollover to LOCKN’ 2021. LOCKN’ 2020 purchasers transferring their order to LOCKN’ 2021 will receive one free access voucher for all three crowdless performances from the LOCKN’ site by Joe Russo’s Almost Dead on October 2-4, 2020. There will be a lot of additional benefits applied per ticket type, with VIP Ticket Holders and Super VIP Ticket Holders will receive an invitation to a private celebration at LOCKN’ 2021 with complimentary food and beverages, along with some surprise guests. Super VIP Ticket Holders will also get a very special ride on the Main Stage turntable. GA ticket holders who rollover will also be entered to win a VIP ticket and camping upgrades for LOCKN’ 2021.
For people who are looking for a refund on their LOCKN’ 2020 tickets instead of a rollover can request a full refund of the total purchase price, including all fees. Requests must be made by September 27, 2020 by 11:59 PM EST. Refunds will be processed in as little as 30 days following the deadline; refunds will be issued to the ticket holder’s original method of payment. If no selection is made by September 27, 2020 orders will automatically roll over to 2021.
There is also the option for LOCKN’ 2020 ticket holders to donate their current ticket to LOCKN’ if they are unable to attend in 2021 to help to ensure another year of music and family on the farm. A portion of the face value of all donated ticket sales will be given to HeadCount to support its mission of promoting participation in democracy by registering voters at live and virtual events. For complete details on how to rollover tickets, request a refund, or donate LOCKN’ 2020 tickets, visit here.
For more information on LOCKN’ Festival 2021 visit their website.
File this one under so nice the Analog Players Society had to release it twice. The first disc, TILTED, is a percolating live acoustic jazz session featuring four of the genre’s finest players. The second, Soundtrack for a Nonexistent Film, is a loop based reimaging of the sounds waxed during the former, a fractal audio swirl that gives props to the sample-heavy production of hip-hop’s Golden Age and a new kind of noir cinema sound.
The culprits behind this very forward-thinking project are the Analog Players Society, the brainchild of producer/engineer Amon Drum (aka Amon aka J. Amon). This heavy collective originated at Amon’s first studio, The Hook, which recently moved and expanded to be reborn as The Bridge Studio, a new Williamsburg, Brooklyn-based favorite of NYC’s most cutting-edge players.
Photo by Jude Goergen.
The APS collective features a rotating ensemble cast of some of the Big Apple best soundmakers. APS’ various projects, which are all decidedly eclectic by nature, carry serious strains of the Jazz, Dub, Funk, Afrobeat and Soul within. Analog Players Society’s 2012 debut album, Hurricane Season In Brooklyn, impressively debuted in the top 15 of the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart, and earned press accolades from NPR’s Fresh Air, Wired, and All About Jazz to name a few.
Fast forward to April 2019 and the Analog Players Society is reborn during a live jazz session produced by Ben Rubin (aka Benny Cha Cha) and Amonat at The Bridge Studio. Rubin gathered four of the best jazz musicians in New York City for the occasion: tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin (David Bowie’s last bandleader on Blackstar), pianist Orrin Evans (the Bad Plus), and the in-demand rhythm section of bassist Dezron Douglas and drummer Eric McPherson.
The fruits of this meeting are featured on TILTED, which comes out today on Ropeadope Records. It boasts three lengthy explorations, all full of quirky creative turns and high-wire harmonic interplay.
Nothing like the tinkle of a toy piano to set the mood for this most unique cover of Monk’s angular and playful Epistrophy. McCaslin is the focal point for most of this 10-plus minute journey. He deconstructs lines and floats across Evan’s alternatively chopped single note support lines and lush, complex chord painting. McPherson’s unique drumming, evident on all the tracks, is at its most impactful here. He’s a man more inclined towards orchestral stomps, punky thunks and unexpected breakdown fills than cliched, cymbal-ridin’ chinga chinga cocktail lounge swing. To my ears, his style owes more to someone like Captain Beefheart’s John “Drumbo” French and the delightfully jerky time of Prime Time-era Denardo Coleman than traditional post bopper. And making this even more oddly Monk, Evan’s goes two hands for his solo here, one on the piano grand, and one on his toy ivories!
Photo by Jude Goergen.
On the other cover here, One Note Samba, the quartet wrestles a tasty dose of avant garde out of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s mellow bossa nova classic, with McCaslin tossing about the memorable melody, bringing a bit of sinister mood with the subtle delay and harmonizer laden on his horn. With the sole original, Freedom is but a Fraction of Humanity, what starts as a lovely, yearning ballad turns into a high-speed chase, with especially fierce soloing from Evans. All of these tracks are produced and engineered to perfection by Rubin and Amon, imparting a crisp acoustic experience, notable on Douglas’ deep soulful bass, and with tasteful use of electronic effects that give it just the right among of left field fun.
When it comes to left field fun, it will be hard to beat the second release birthed from these sessions, Soundtrack for a Nonexistent Film, to be released on October 30.
Running a little over 30 minutes in all, Soundtrack is comprised of 12 miniatures composed entirely lifted from short samples from TILTED’s tracks, seven by Amon on the A side; five by Rubin on the B side. These tiny gems are looped and mutated electronically to create a new kind of moody, one that is part street, and part cinematic cool.
The opener, Chase, features a driving 70s Miles Davis beat (think Al Foster on Agartha) on which Amon hangs an edgy bit of melodic sax, only to break the drive periodically with the ringing of solo piano chords and time changes. He gets extra points from me on this one with the injection of the fartiest sawtooth wave bass synth lines, vintage Krautrock or early ELP. My favorite Amon remix is Act Cool. It features a Hip-Hop beat under a warm, melodic acoustic bass, lush pads and McCaslin’s sax at its breathiest, a kind of Ben Webster Goes to Mars experience.
Photo by Jude Goergen.
Rubin’s five pieces demonstrate his devotion to in-the-pocket rhythms and dub mixing, most evident on the ska-infused Brooklyn Blackout and the jazzy blues of Starry Night. What’s a delight about all the tracks here is how the duo recycles and dramatically changes these little phrases, whipping them into a wide range of compositions, ones that always seems to milk something evocative out of these humble two-bar nuggets.
Key Tracks: Epistrophy, Freedom is but a Fraction of Humanity, Act Cool, Brooklyn Blackout
On August 29, 2019, MC5 founding guitarist Wayne Kramer brought his supergroup MC50 to Le Poisson Rouge in New York City to celebrate 50 years of punk rock greatness. The group consisted of guitarist Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), drummer Brendan Canty (Fugazi), bassist Billy Gould (Faith No More) and singer Marcus Durant (Zen Gorilla).
MC5 is considered one of the most important American hard rock groups of their era. The band performed as part of the protests of the Vietnam War at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago that were broken up by a police riot. According to Kramer in an interview featured in the documentary “Get up, Stand Up,” the band played for over eight hours straight when the other bands scheduled to perform didn’t show because of the chaos.
“Kick Out the Jams” was released as a single in March 1969 by Elektra Records. It has been covered by numerous bands including Bad Brains and Rage Against the Machine. The band’s debut album of the same name was released a month earlier and was recorded at Detroit’s Grande Ballroom over two nights, Devil’s Night and Halloween, 1968.
The band played the entire “Kick Out the Jams” debut album. They also played songs from MC5’s other two albums including “Tonight,” “Everything” and “Let Me Try.” They sounded great as they ripped through their 80 minute set at the very intimate but temporarily closed Greenwich Village venue LPR. The show was one of the only three shows the band played in the United States in 2019 before going to the United Kingdom to open for Alice Cooper for another seven shows.
The Downtown Troy Business Improvement District (BID) announced the return of their annual summer events in downtown Troy, NY as the Capital Region continues to reopen with safe and social distancing protocols. Some of the upcoming activities include Rockin’ at Sage Park which has been taking place since July 22 and will run through September 9 and Fitness in the Park which started on July 19 and will run through the September 6.
Katie Hammon, Executive Director of the Downtown Troy Business Improvement District, spoke on the return of summer events saying, “Downtown Troy welcomes you back in safe, physically distanced ways with a diverse lineup of summer programming. This year’s events will look a bit different as we keep the safety of our community at the forefront of our planning, and scale back creating new ways to interact with downtown. We are excited to be able to offer fun physically distanced experiences while inviting individuals back to our business community for shopping, dining, and exploring alongside the events!”
The annual upcoming summer events in Downtown Troy include Fitness In The Park, Rockin’ At Stage Park, Troy River Fest Ramble, and a Grown Up Scavenger Hunt. These events will be free and open to the public with the option to RSVP to them ahead of time. Some of the events have a cap on the amount of attendees permitted so interested parties should RSVP to ensure their spot.
Fitness In The Park
William D. Chamberlain Riverfront Park Troy, NY 12180
Sundays, July 19 through September 6 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
Heartspace Yoga & Healing Arts provide an opportunity to stay healthy and active outside while experiencing the morning sounds of Troy and views of the Hudson River. Fitness instruction will be provided in a safe environment with physically distanced circles on the grass. Brunch and an opportunity to shop throughout Troy will be provided afterwards.
Wednesdays, July 22 through September 9| 5:30 p.m.
July 22, 29 | August 5, 12, 19, 26 | September 2, 9
Summer Square’s partnership with Rockin’ on the River will provide live music and arts entertainment throughout downtown Troy at the Rockin’ at Sage Park event.
Rockin’ at Sage Park will provide a small-scale concert series with local performers. The lineup will be announced weekly for each performer. Physically distanced circles will be designated on the grass for seating.
Attendees can bring their own food or order takeout from downtown Troy restaurants to enjoy with the music.
Attendance will be limited at 40 individuals. Click here to RSVP.
Troy River Fest Ramble
Friday, July 31 through Sunday, August 2
Troy River Fest returns with a 3-day long physically distanced throughout downtown Troy with a downtown-wide sidewalk sale and family-friendly activities.
On Friday, July 31, River Fest Ramble: Twilight Shopping will take place from 5:00pm – 9:00pm and beyond
On Saturday, August 1, Downtown-wide Sidewalk Sale with live demos and pop-ups will take place from 9:00am – 2:00pm and beyond
On Sunday, August 2, activities include:
Family Day Out!–9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. and beyond
Fitness in The Park (9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.)
Brunch Downtown
Chalk Art Contest (begins at 10:00 a.m., prizes awarded at 1:45 p.m.)
The Capital Region Grown Up Egg Hunt has now transitioned into a month-long scavenger hunt with prizes distributed each week throughout participating downtown Troy businesses. Businesses will hide “holiday” items for holidays celebrated at home because of COVID-19.
Click here to receive your scavenger card and start the hunt
In My Elements, created by Elements Festival, has announced their fall edition and will attempt to recreate the concept of the Elements Festival in a smaller, more intimate environment. This fall installment will take place on September 25 – 28 on Lake Como in Pennsylvania.
In My Elements festivities will focus on the safety of attendees by being a tested and contained retreat. The festival, in addition to onsite cleaning and safety protocols, will require all guests, staff and vendors to participate in an advance 2-part COVID-19 test prior to entry and will limit attendance to 250 people following PA outdoor gathering limits.
The festivities will include music for techno and house devotees as well as intimate stages where guests will be able to experience the sounds from their Air and Water stages. There will also be special programming with daily yoga and meditation sessions and wellness activities held in open-air environments, to help calm the mind and cleanse the spirit. Exciting art installations and wild shows. The festival will be located in forests and lakefront settings giving guests a peaceful place to explore.
In My Elements full lineup includes: Wax Motif, Eli (Soul Clap), Sacha Robotti, Desert Hearts: Lee Reynolds + Porky, Gene Farris, J.Phlip, Golf Clap, Westend, The Golden Pony, Alexander:Louis, Cakewalk, Dastan, Kate Stein, Koop, Late London, Nacho Isa, Papyon, Ria Bird, Ryssa, TMBER, with more regional DJs to be announced.
The TCR 2-Part Testing Model required by attendees will work by first In the week leading up to the retreat, people will take a test at one of their certified testing locations in multiple cities. Results will be reported before the retreat. Although testing kits may vary depending on location, the preferred test is the Mako Medical TaqPath COVID-19 Combo Assay with 100% PPA and 100% NPA. At home mail-in tests are available as an add-on to tickets for an additional fee. The second part of the two part testing is that when guests arrive on site, their cars will be guided into distanced parking spaces where they will take an active COVID-19 rapid test. Results will be received in about 30 minutes and guests will be directed into the event grounds. This test will be a Sofia 2 SARS Antigen FIA with 96.7% PPA and 100% NPA sensitivity, manufactured by Quidel.
General admission passes are now on sale and can be purchased here. This time around the In My Element guests have the option of camping or cabin packages, including a deluxe cabin apartment option. Camping passes are currently sold out and cabins are following close behind. If there’s another lockdown, or the gathering is cancelled for any reason, they will issue full, automatic refunds of all tickets and credit card fees, no questions asked.
For more information visit In My Elements website.
Angered that the State Liquor Authority (SLA) created new guidelines last week in regards to live music and ticketed events, establishments have teamed up to file a lawsuit.
According to the SLA’s website, venues and bars cannot hold ticketed events, karaoke and other live entertainments. They claim that an establishment is allowed to have “incidental live music,” but it cannot be ticketed or advertised.
“Only incidental music is permissible at this time. This means that advertised and/or ticketed shows are not permissible. Music should be incidental to the dining experience and not the draw itself. All other forms of live entertainment, such as exotic dancing, comedy shows, karaoke etc., are not permissible currently regardless of phase.”
via SLA website
To many establishments, they feel these new guidelines will affect business drastically. According to the lawsuit, these rules restrict “free speech.”
“Despite the fact that coronavirus is not transmitted via sound waves, the SLA just decimated already struggling businesses. This rule prohibits lawfully operating establishments from advertising the entertainment that is lawfully available: to wit, a ban on advertising of music at food service establishments. This constitutes a content-based restriction on free speech,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit was filed with the support of the New York Independent Venue Association. Forming this past summer, NIVA has been on the forefront of the #SaveOurStages movement. Their mission was and still is to get financial support from Congress to the industry. They represent over 100 independent music venues including The Tralf, Littlefield, Birdland Jazz Club in Manhattan and Buffalo Iron Works in western New York.
The new guidelines appeared not too long after multiple raves throughout NYC got busted for illegally selling liquor and disobeying the social distancing rule.
Bill Crowly, a spokesperson for SLA told Gothamist that large gatherings such as these can be very dangerous.
“These high-risk gatherings would create exactly the situation we are trying to avoid, where people congregate, mingle, and create congestion at points of ingress and egress,” Crowly said.
On the side of the restaurant/bar industry, a manager, Kim, at Littlefield said that its been a hard time reopening and that costumers have to respect that.
“Nightlife is so vital here—I don’t know why else people would move to New York, and I feel like it’s going to die. We’re holding out as long as we can with whatever aid we can get. But this is going to change the whole landscape of nightlife in New York,” said Kim.
Wavy Cunningham, an Albany-area rapper who has shown much potential in the past, comes through with his first full length project, Club Wavy. The album is a product of the collective efforts of Wavy along with producers N-Pro, DJ Mercy, and Frank Finesse.
The album itself plays as if Cunningham and the production crew have a thorough understanding of old school and underground hip-hop simultaneously performed through a 2010 lens. Throughout the album, it becomes evident that Wavy is eager to make a name for himself in the current hip hop landscape; Club Wavy may very well be that stepping stone.
The album starts off with the swirling synth beat featured on “I’m Good.” Wavy immediately follows in finding himself riding the beat like a surfboarder, spitting bar after bar about his come up in the past few years. The track progresses into a familiar “Eenie Meenie Miney Mo” rhyme pattern which is both appealing as well as gratifying to hear those anticipated rhyme schemes fulfilled. Wavy continues to flex his pen game which remains impressive from track to track. As the album progresses, the production leans towards a jazz rap fusion with Wavy’s prominent voice hitting as hard as a hammer over synth jazz chords.
Wavy’s vocal performances throughout this project are as smooth as ever, whether delivered in a triplet flow pattern reminiscent of 21-Savage on “I’m Good” or in smooth R&B fashion such as on “The V.I.P” with soulful, crooning vocals that hit like Kids See Ghosts era Kid Kudi. “The V.I.P.” serves as an interlude for the album but still, even as a transitional track, “The V.I.P” carries an almost tangible emotion that brings the audience into the next half of the album. The remainder continues on with Wavy performing in his pocket over beats with a jazzy guitar chords along with classic trap instrumentals which allow Wavy’s voice to take center stage.
The album culminates with “All We need is Love,” an emotionally heavy track that honors the lives of those who have become victims of police brutality. “All We Need is Love” is ripe with emotion and showcases Wavy’s ability to rap while simultaneously narrating a coherent story about a young black college man who was subject to unlawful search and seizure along with a wrongful arrest.
Wavy closes the album out by remembering the lives of recent victims of ongoing police brutality and racial discrimination in the United States, humbly singing and asking a closing question to the audience,
All we need is love, when it’s all said and done what we do effects the future of our daughters and our sons. Tell me what’s really going on.
Key Tracks: Whattup?, The V.I.P. (interlude), All We Need is Love
NYS Music and Music Minds have teamed up to check in with musicians around the New York scene and see how they are holding up and how they are feeling about their craft. For this installment, we talked to James Casey, saxophone player of Trey Anastasio Band.
James Casey is an NY/LA-based multi-instrumentalist, singer, producer and composer, born in Washington, D.C. to a musical family, and raised in Phoenix, AZ, from where he left to pursue a Music Business degree at Berklee College of Music. After leaving Boston, Casey moved to New York to continue to develop his passion for making music.
Over the years, Casey has become one of the most in-demand sax players in New York and Los Angeles and has toured the world with multiple artists. When not on the road, Casey has found a niche in the studio, producing and performing for many different acts, including his own, Animus Rexx. Casey is also co-founder and owner of Aux Chord, an online live-streaming venue.
Adam Chase: What are the biggest issues facing musicians during this forced hiatus?
James Casey: I’d probably say: stagnation and complacency. We’re all in the same boat of not being able to have live, in-person concerts right now, and we have no idea on how long we Americans will be in this predicament. I think the worst thing any of us could do is to sit still and wait for things to get better. We don’t know what better looks like or when that will be. As of today, NY passed a law basically saying venues can’t pay for live music right now. And understandably so!
We definitely can’t be trusted to be smart about this pandemic…but we also can’t remain where we are. Live in-person concerts are only part of being a musician. We should use this time to shore up deficiencies in our playing/performing, begin (or finish) that project you’ve been putting off, expand your musical horizons, or even start a new, adjacent musical venture! There are very few times in life that you will have this much time as an adult, it would be a shame to waste this opportunity!
AC: Have you found and tricks to staying positive?
JC: Hah, well, fortunately I was able to make my way to Hawaii a bit before NYC shut down. Right now, being on Kaua’i, I’m able to go to the beach, enjoy the outdoors, and be in an environment where people take coronavirus seriously…but with no community spread. I don’t know how I would have been had I stayed in NYC, in my little apartment during this time.
As far as remaining positive is concerned, I try to continually touch base with family and friends…and I really don’t like talking on the phone or FaceTiming. I know that a lot of people are in a much more difficult situation than I am, so I try to listen to what they’re going through and respond positively without bragging too much.
AC: What effect do you think musicians can have on social change?
JC: Musicians are the amplifiers of ideas and feelings. Any ideas or feelings. If you say something in a chant or with a simple melody, it remains in the consciousness of the listener and will bubble up from time to time. If it’s a good melody, idea or feeling, the effect is exponential.
There’s a reason we still hear the songs from the civil rights era right now; not only were they great songs, but they all conveyed a great message, a great idea and enough emotion to keep them circulating forever. “What’s Going On,” “Someday We’ll All Be Free,” or even “Strange Fruit” (from before the Civil Rights era) are songs that have become timeless and will eventually be revered like “Amazing Grace.”
We as musicians have the ability to write these iconic songs and we have a duty to chronicle the era in which we are living. I urge everyone I’ve spoken to on this subject to “write that song,” “tell that tale,” and talk about the things that are bothering you because you never know who it will resonate with. It could be the next song to bolster the movement.
AC: How have you been using your time during the shutdown?
JC: Surfing! Hah, not really. I tried, but I can’t stand up on the board yet.
I saw this pandemic coming (to the US) pretty early. I live in NYC and there’s no way it wasn’t gonna get there and explode. So while I was trying to figure out a way to leave, I was also trying to figure out how musicians would be able to work while not being able to play shows.
The idea I came up with was an online venue…but I had no idea it would get as bad as it did. Cut to April, and I see everyone on my timeline doing livestreams on Facebook and Instagram. They were all asking for tips and basically busking. That’s when we put the idea into high gear and created a platform where musicians can do live stream shows of all production capabilities (living room to a huge theater or soundstage) behind a paywall. It’s called Aux Chord and you can find it at AuxChord.live. I’ve been spending most of my time cultivating and growing our platform.
AC: What do you want people to know about Aux Chord?
JC: Well, we put it together for musicians. Since its inception, we wanted to find a way to have high quality audio and video without gouging the artists. I’m an artist and I know how difficult it is to deal with venues, so we made the pricing structure as simple as possible so the artists get as much as possible. Also, I think every artist should do at least one livestream. It’s not as daunting as it seems before you attempt it. If I, a saxophone player, can do a whole show from a locked down island with no Guitar center and Amazon taking a month to deliver anything, I’m sure you can from the comfort of wherever you are! Plus, to all the bands out there, we have different venues and staging areas around the country and production capabilities from small venues to giant sound stages, so hit us up!
AC: What song or album would you nominate for the soundtrack to 2020?
JC: My initial thought was “Scream” by Michael and Janet Jackson…but honestly, if you just record someone falling down like four flights of stairs, then have them stop and stand up, only to fall down five more, that would be my nomination.
