NYS Music 202​0

Category: Regions

  • “Daze Between” Announced in Celebration of the Life and Music from Jerry Garcia

    “Daze Between” was announced by The Jerry Garcia Family and The Rex Foundation in celebration of the life and music created by Jerry Garcia. The event will include exclusive musical performance and storytelling for nine days of fun. The event’s live stream will be free but open for donations and run August 1-9.

    “Daze Between” will will feature performances by: Grateful Dead, Dead & Company, Bob Weir & The Campfire Band, The Jerry Garcia 75th Birthday Band, The Jerry Garcia 75th Birthday Acoustic Band,featuring Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Jeff Chimenti, Donna Jean Godchaux, Neal Casal, Joe Russo, Jon Graboff, Mike Gordon, Jim Lauderdale, Adam McDougall, Jason Roberts, Harper Simon, Josh Kaufman, Sam Cohen, Jonathan Wilson, Cass McCombs, Chris Tomson, Craig Finn, and Tad Kubler.  The event will also be screening the film Move Me Brightly. 

    The event will feature new and archival performances as well as storytelling from artists including: ALO, Andy Thorn, Amigo the Devil, Amos Lee, Circles Around The Sun, Dark Star Orchestra, David Grisman, Del McCoury Band, Della Mae, From Good Homes, Fruition, Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad, Graham Nash, Greensky Bluegrass, Greg Errico, Hiss Golden Messenger, Hot Tuna, Jackie Greene, Jason Crosby, Katie Skene, Keller Williams, Kitchen Dwellers, Leslie Mendelson, Lettuce ft. Melvin Seals, Marco Benevento, Midnight North, Molly Tuttle, Nicki Bluhm, Peter Rowan, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Railroad Earth, Roots of Creation, Ross James, Sandy Rothman, Seth Walker, Scott Law, Tejon Street Corner Thieves, The Infamous Stringdusters, The Record Company, Travelin’ McCourys, Twiddle, Tyler Grant & Lindsay Lou, Yonder Mountain String Band with more to be announced.

    “Daze Between” is partnering with Live From Out There/11E1even Group, DayGlo Ventures, Relix, Jerry Garcia Estate, Activist Management, Nugs.net, level, KEEN and Teton Gravity Research to bring this community-wide celebration to life. 

    “Daze Between” will be streamed live across Nugs.net, Fans.com, Facebook, Youtube, and other channels, with a home base on www.dazebetween.com. Throughout the week, people will have the option to donate to the Rex Foundation using text-to-give or payment options embedded within each streaming platform. There will also be a signed guitar by Bob Weir, copies of Jay Blakesberg’s books of photography, a complete set of Jerry Garcia-inspired posters by Chuck Sperry and more up for auction. 

    The daily lineup has been announced. Check below to see who you can stream starting August 1!

    daze between

    For more information visit Daze Between’s website.

  • Hearing Aide: The Erotics “Let’s Kill Rock ‘n’ Roll”

    Albany-area heavy rockers The Erotics are no longer a new band or young pups, having been at it for over two decades now. They first released “Get Drunk Again” on Cacophone Records Ultra Swank compilation in 1999, so we can reasonably call these lads veteran heavy rockers by now.

    Let’s Kill Rock ‘n’ Roll is a live record of all-new songs – I remember Central New York heavies The Rods doing this in 1984, but this is not common in the heavy rock world. However, it’s no crappy live-in-a-club recording – the band recorded this in front of a small audience of hardcore fans in an actual studio, so the sound is fantastic, the guitars are up-front and face-removing, a great balance of clarity and rawness. The small live audience gives it a vibe not unlike the legendary promo-only live 1977 AC/DC record Live from the Atlantic Studios, which was recorded in similar fashion.

    the erotics

    Before getting to the tunes, one thing that has always set The Erotics apart from your typical Albany-area “plays the local clubs and occasionally some other Northeast city” band, is that these guys have built a following well outside the local area. No doubt, there have been Albany bands who have done the same – Troy heavies Stigmata and Brick by Brick developed national followings and have performed in Europe; Albany ska-crunch heroes Can’t Say have toured nationally and released records in Japan; and legendary area greats Blotto were on MTV on Day 1 and toured the States opening for Blue Oyster Cult.

    When I’ve seen The Erotics in local clubs, there always seems to be someone there down from Canada or over from Europe to see the band. Having toured the UK several times, last year they played a British festival opening for one of my favorite bands ever, The Wildhearts; the reach of this band extends far beyond the 518.

    Anyways, the music: this record rocks. A killer old-school heavy rock record, with no pretensions to alternative rock or punk hipster-ism. I know other reviews and articles brand these guys as punk, but I don’t hear that – this band is firmly in the tradition of 70s (Alice Cooper, Bon-era AC/DC) and 80s hard rock. They invoke Appetite-era Guns n Roses, maybe first-two-records-era Motley Crue (but without the shitty singer) ‘Electric’-era The Cult and, again, AC/DC. Great riffs, great songwriting, and lyrics about things real rock bands sing about (fighting, drinking, rocking, women & hell). The record starts off with a short instrumental, “Nothing to Sing About”, with chugging riffs and Thin Lizzy-style harmony guitars, into title track “Let’s Kill Rock N Roll,” killer riff, memorable chorus, a truly great heavy rock tune.

    There’s mighty, hefty riffs everywhere and some excellent choruses, as with “Monday Morning Meltdown” and “Head of the Low Class.” Mike Trash’s vocals, always good, are top-shelf here, in the region of a more whiskey-soaked Axl. “Lie My Way Into Hell” is excellent, maybe the best track, great, swaggering stuff. Not much to criticize here – “Wrong Kind of Love Song” maybe reminds me a bit of those 80s power ballads I fucking hated back in the day, albeit without the candy-corn production, and as you get into the latter half of the 14 tracks, there’s a blending-in-together feel. But the record ends on a high note with “Fighting Like Cats and Dogs,” full of high-speed, fast, heavy, crushing metal. Great stuff indeed.

    All hail Let’s Kill Rock’n’Roll, a top-notch hard rock record, released on July 20, so go get yourself a tall glass of this now.  Check it out on Bandcamp.

    Key Tracks: Let’s Kill Rock N Roll, Lie My Way Into Hell, Fighting Like Cats and Dogs

  • Billionaire John Malone Approved to Take Over Control of iHeartMedia

    John Malone has been approved by the Justice Department to expand its shares of iHeartMedia by up to 50 percent and in doing so take over control of iHeartMedia on July 15. Malone’s company Liberty Media Corporation was approved to do this and expand its domination of the music industry via radio, streaming, concerts, festivals, and ticketing.

    john malone
    John Malone Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

    Liberty Media is a mass media company that was formed in 1991 and is owned by Malone and Greg Maffei is it’s CEO. The company currently controls 850 AM and FM radio stations and the streaming service iHeartRadio. It also already owns and operates Sirius XM and Pandora. Liberty Media has controlling stakes in concert behemoths Live Nation and Ticketmaster.  Liberty Media holds a 33 percent stake in Live Nation Entertainment which effectively gives it a seat at the head of the table.

    Liberty Media would increase their current 5% of shares in iHeartMedia up to 50% of its shares per the Justice Department’s ruling. This ability to buy this amount of shares in iHeartMedia could be catastrophic for the radio market. It would make it so there were fewer options in stations, less diversity between stations and their programming, and increased prices. Both the coalition of consumer and anti-monopoly groups opposed this deal including the Open Markets Institute, Public Citizen and the Center for Digital Democracy. With Liberty Media already owning the controlling stake in SiriusXM, the U.S.’s biggest satellite radio provider, owning that amount of shares at iHeartMedia would make them able to control an overwhelming amount of radio broadcasts according to Politco’s article: 

    WEQX

    102.7 fm EQX is an independently owned radio station. Their slogan is that they are “the real alternative.” Jeff Morad, the Program Director of EQX, indulged in his thoughts on the buyout via email saying,

    “It comes as no surprise that one person, who has probably not been to a concert or purchased an album in 50 years, is currently the only person in control of the vast majority of concerts and music in this country.  As one of the only independently owned and operated stations in the country, we choose not to be disappointed by this, but rather inspired to continue to give independent artists and independent minded listeners an outlet. The only thing that can shut us down is if people choose to support corporate radio and their advertisers as opposed to supporting independent, local radio and their small business advertisers.  We can’t control who controls the media (except for by voting) but we can control what we listen to.  A friendly reminder that you can listen throughout our 4-state area at 102.7FM or on our free apps for iPhone and Androids or on our free 24/7 stream at weqx.com” All though much of our media is run through mega corporations there is always the option to find independent outlets that aren’t filtered through the mega corporations ideals.

    For more information please visit Liberty Media Corporations website.

  • Buffalo Rapper Westside Gunn Celebrates his 38th Birthday

    Prolific Buffalo rapper Westside Gunn celebrates his 38th birthday today, July 27. Born Alvin Lamar Worthy, Westside has dominated the western New York rap scene along with the help of his brother, fellow rapper Conway the Machine, and their cousin, Benny the Butcher. The three have made a name for themselves in the current hip hop landscape through the formation of Griselda Records in 2014 which led the “Griselda gang” on their trip to stardom.

    2016 saw the release of Westside’s debut studio album Flygod which lent further credit to the rapper’s name. The following year saw Griselda Records made a deal cosigning with Eminem’s Shady Records which further accelerated the groups career. The groups deal with Shady Records, a subsidiary of Interscope records, made Westside and his brother Conway the Machine the first Buffalo based rappers to sign to a major record label, giving the two an almost untouchable status in the Buffalo rap scene.

    Recently, Westside Gunn has been a hot feature for artists such as Rick Ross and Anderson .Paak, collaborations that would have been hard to land without the backing of Eminem’s label. Westside has also made a name for himself in the music festival route playing massive summer events such as Coachella and Governor’s Ball.

    This past April Westside Gunn released his Pray for Paris LP which debuted at number 67 on the Billboard 200. The album features sample heavy production handled by both The Alchemist and Tyler, The Creator who also guest stared in a verse on the track “327.” Other features on the album include Freddie Gibbs and Wale along with the rest of the Griselda gang, Conway The Machine and Benny The Butcher.

    During the recording process for Pray for Paris, Westside learned that he had contracted COVID-19 which, he recounts, led to much of the promotion for the album to be handled while sick and isolated. Pray for Paris is yet another musical project that has faced obstacles placed by the global coronavirus pandemic. Following the mandated cancelation of large gatherings, the initial release party was postponed and traded in for a live stream event which took place on Twitch.

  • Microphone Check: Interview With Shira Elias of Turkuaz

    NYS Music and Music Minds have teamed up to check in with musicians around the scene and see how they are holding up and how they are feeling about their craft.  For the first installment, we talked to Shira Elias, vocalist of Turkuaz.

    Vocalist Shira Elias finds her voice in the space where soul, pop, and R&B collide. This spring, Shira welcomed her debut solo endeavor, GOODS the EP, under her latest project, Shira Elias’ Goods & Services. With funk band, Turkuaz, Shira has recorded six records and played shows across the globe at legendary venues and festivals. Elias is collaborating with producer and musical partner MEGA to offer up a series of songs that are deeply personal, decidedly honest, and undeniably unique.

    Adam Chase: In what ways has this time period put live music into perspective?

    Shira Elias: I mean, you don’t know what you got til it’s gone, right? In so many ways, over the past 4 months we have seen how art brings people together and HEALS us. Especially now, live music is necessary in that way.

    Shira Elias

    AC: In what ways has music helped get you through tough times?

    SE: Music is therapy for me, both by experiencing it from an outside source and in creating it myself. It transports me to a spiritual place where I can really look within myself for answers and for comfort. For me, it’s the most potent anxiety reliever out there.

    AC: What makes being a singer different from other musicians?

    SE: Your instrument is your body. It is all within you. Instrumentalists have a separate entity that they channel their expression through. Vocalists have a more literally visceral connection to their instrument, which is a blessing and a curse. A blessing because I believe the sound of a human voice can resonate and express emotion in a more profound way than any instrument can by virtue of it being produced by a living being. And a curse, because there is no escaping it. You cannot put your instrument away in its case after the gig, which is why vocal health is a lifelong challenge for singers.

    AC: What words of encouragement would you have for someone learning how to sing?

    SE: I would tell them to sing as much as they can, as often as they can because your voice is a muscle that you need to train and work out just like any muscle in your body. You gotta get those reps in. And I would also encourage them to find their own true, authentic voice, rather than try to sound like someone else. No one else in the world can sound like you, so be the best you that you can possibly be.

  • The Dead Peak at the Beacon For The Last Time: June 15, 1976

    Shortly before the country would celebrate its Bicentennial in 1976, the Grateful Dead would play a show at the Beacon Theatre. This is the second and last time the band would play this New York City venue before upgrading to the larger confines of Madison Square Garden a few years later. They had recently ditched their fabled massive Wall of Sound PA system for a more stripped down and intimate stage setup, opting to let the music speak for itself rather than overpowering the audience. A string of East Coast shows in June of this year would see the band in pristine form as they dusted off some of their classic songs and began to introduce new ones, ushering in a new era of The Grateful Dead.

    The first set starts off in electric fashion thanks a crisp vocal section led by guitarist Bob Weir that helps fuel a cover of “Promised Land” that would make Chuck Berry glow. A slow, drippy “Sugaree” follows that allows fellow guitarist Jerry Garcia a chance to stretch out his vocal chords a bit before a rip roaring “Cassidy” sets the tone for the first set, thanks to accompanying vocal support from Bob Weir and Donna Jean Godchaux.

    Dead Beacon

    An audible first set highlight, based on the crowd reaction alone, is a sultry “Candyman” that places the lyrical craftsmanship of Robert Hunter and the complimentary guitar play from Garcia front and center. Soon after, the ravenous New York City crowd gets a little taste of Grateful Dead shows of old show thanks to a stirring rendition of “It Must Have Been the Roses,” a song the band played extensively in 1974 and a staple of Jerry Garcia Band shows for years to come.

    The first set of this show ends with an impressive sequence of a “Let It Grow” that stretches out all the way to a “Drums”-esque type jam before settling into a set closing “Might As Well.” Even though this tune was also played the night before, it still marked only the sixth time this Dead tune was played live, one they would continue to showcase for another eighteen years,

    Dead Beacon
    Grateful Dead, June 1976

    The band wastes no time in opening the second set with a “Saint Stephen” that immediately explores the given space and stretches into a formidable jam. However, instead of a “William Tell Bridge,” the rhythmic partners of Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart begin the percussive intro of “Not Fade Away,” a Buddy Holly cover that, by now, The Grateful Dead seem to have appropriated as their own.

    Contrary to most Dead shows, the ensuing Beacon “Drums” section gets ripcorded almost instantly in favor of an incredibly emotional “Stella Blue” that’s spearheaded by poignant Garcia-sung lyrics. This particular version is marked by a beautifully patient progression from all parties and is definitely one of the show’s highlights. Garcia’s hauntingly slow delivery of the vocals, matched perfectly by the rest of the band, gives this version a rather emotional feel to it. Take a listen to the entire segment from “Saint Stephen” to “Stella Blue” below – worth the price of admission alone.

    “Samson and Delilah,” a song that made its live debut only weeks earlier in the beginning of the tour, shows off its future potential nicely with a shortlived jam that picks the energy back up before a leisurely “Friend of the Devil” brings things to a crawl again. A manic “Dancin’ in the Streets” then follows as the band seems to delight in varying up the tempo of this second set. The telepathic interplay between Garcia and bassist Phil Lesh is on prime display here.

    Perhaps what makes this show so special is the superb sound quality, thanks to soundboard recordings captured by the band’s longtime live recording engineer Betty Cantor-Jackson. For years, this and the other June ’76 shows were some of the most revered recordings in the tape trading community. Picking up on that, these recordings have since been further polished and remastered and are now available for purchase as part of a 15-disc box set that highlights this special era of Grateful Dead music. It features this and four of the other shows surrounding this one. With production limited to only 12,000 individually numbered copies and a slew of crisp recordings from this seminal era of the band’s history, it’s sure to be a “sound” investment for any fan.

    Grateful Dead Beacon Theatre – New York City, NY

    Set 1: Promised Land, Sugaree, Cassidy, Candyman, The Music Never Stopped, It Must Have Been The Roses, Looks Like Rain, Tennessee Jed, Let It Grow -> Might As Well

    Set 2: Saint Stephen->Not Fade Away->Drums->Stella Blue, Samson & Delilah, Friend Of The Devil, Dancin’ In The Streets->The Wheel->Sugar Magnolia->Scarlet Begonias->Sunshine Daydream

    E: Johnny B. Goode

    Dead Beacon

  • This day in hip-hop: Bobby Shmurda becomes the ‘Hot-test’ of them all

    Six years ago today, Bobby Shmurda and his effervescent first single “Hot N-gga” was made digitally available for consumption by Epic Records. The music video – which has garnered nearly 650 million YouTube views – was released in May of 2014 and quickly became an internet sensation. While the record was re-packaged, the music video was not subjected to such changes, most likely because it had already reached “viral” status, but also because it represented the ingenuity of Brooklyn inner-cities. It spawned the “Shmoney Dance” craze where, in a moment of inventiveness, the rapper throws his hat in the air and begins to pop his hips left and right. Unplanned, the “Shmoney Dance” helped cement the record as the song of 2014. Peaking at Number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, it helped usher in a new era. This was the first song that this current incarnation of social media (Instagram, Facebook and Twitter) made prominent, something we’ve since seen replicated several times over. 

    The hottest song of 2014

    A subsequent EP – Shmurda She Wrote– followed along with other Billboard hits like “Bobby B!tch” and the cult classic “Computers.” Unfortunately, the success was short-lived. In December 2014, Bobby Shmurda, along with his associates, his brother and GS9 label-mate Rowdy Rebel, were arrested on charges of drug and gun possession, reckless endangerment and conspiracy to commit murder. 

    bobby shmurda hot
    Ah Ah Ah

    Less public members of the organization received the harshest of sentences, while Bobby Shmurda and Rowdy Rebel have been behind bars for the past six years, with an impending release set for the tail-end of 2020. Their impact on the New York culture has not been forgotten (as they successfully implemented the Chicago drill sound to help popularize the sub-genre of New York drill) and in return, fans have showered them with support and promises of a hero’s return. Hot

  • Flashback: Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson rocks Saratoga Winners with Kings of the Sun

    An original review of this show was written for BUZZ Magazine in July of 1990 and can be found below.

    It was 30 years ago tonight, on Wednesday, July 25, 1990, that Iron Maiden front-man Bruce Dickinson and Kings of the Sun took the stage at the legendary Saratoga Winners in Latham, just outside of Albany.

    bruce dickinson
    Bruce Dickinson, Saratoga Winners, Latham, NY, July 25, 1990, picture by Mark Kurtzne

    This bill also played The Chance in Poughkeepsie, on July 20, 1990. Dickinson was on a break from Iron Maiden, promoting his debut Tattooed Millionaire solo LP.  It wasn’t a bad record, although not on par with his better Maiden stuff. He didn’t play any Maiden, unless you count “Bring Your Daughter To the Slaughter,” which at that point was still a Dickinson solo track from a soundtrack; Maiden wouldn’t do record it until their next album.

    Janick Gers, Saratoga Winners, Latham, NY, July 25, 1990, picture by Mark Kurtzner

    However, Dickinson opened the show with his pre-Iron Maiden band Samson’s “Riding With The Angels,” which rocked, and played a bunch of solo songs and covers. Good shows, both packed, mostly with Iron Maiden fans, and a ton of Iron Maiden t-shirts.

    janick gers
    Janick Gers, Saratoga Winners, Latham, NY, July 25, 1990, picture by Mark Kurtzner

    Dickinson’s guitarist this night was Janick Gers, who at the time was the former guitarist from Gillian, the early 80s metal band led by Deep Purple member Ian Gillan. He had also been in a new wave of British Heavy Metal band called White Spirit – as a fan of both of those bands, I was excited to see him, and he played great.  But soon enough he could become far more well-known when he replaced Adrian Smith in Iron Maiden.

    Bruce dickinson
    Bruce Dickinson, Saratoga Winners, Latham, NY, July 25, 1990, picture by Mark Kurtzner

    The opening band, Kings of The Sun, were great at one show, kind of crap at the other. They were from Australia, a band led by a couple of brothers, playing good heavy rock ’n’ roll in the vein of AC/DC, on the heels of a pretty solid self-titled album out at the time.

  • Fingerlakes Drive-In to host to Pigeons Playing Ping Pong in August

    Central New York is blessed with another Drive-In concert this summer, as funky bunch Pigeons Playing Ping Pong will perform at Fingerlakes Drive-in on Friday and Saturday, August 15-16.

    pigeons drive-in

    “Time To Drive-In” will offer fans the opportunity to safely enjoy a true live music event while following social distancing guidelines. A car pass provides a parking space for a standard passenger vehicle and entry for a maximum of four people per vehicle. Concertgoers will be able to enjoy two full sets, each night, with full concert production, in a socially distant manner.

    PPPP

    Fingerlakes Drive-In is a classic drive-in that opened on July 15, 1947, and is the oldest operating Drive-In theatre in New York State. Tickets are now on sale at through Creative Concerts.

  • Karolina Rose Releases Music Video for Power Anthem “Runaway Angels”

    NYC-based alt-pop artist Karolina Rose has released the music video to her new single “Runaway Angels,” a deeply personal place of experience from the nomadic artist, split between NYC, Los Angeles, and Europe.   

    Karolina Rose

    Rose’s previous singles include the glittery upbeat rhythms of “Greytopia” and the dusky grooves in “Objection.” “Runaway Angels” is the latest installment of Karolina’s versatile brand of ‘noir rose pop’ and step three in her visual EP project.

    Speaking about “Runaway Angles,” Karolina explains: 

    Runaway Angels is more ballet-inspired with a graceful, haunting feeling. It balances between this place of healing and a place of hell—running from a dark, painful abyss of memories that mostly only come up while you’re dreaming. I started releasing the EP last year and these last two songs were quite personal to me. I took some months off on a sort of spiritual journey to look within and do some healing; Runaway Angels helped me process a part of my life that was really difficult for me. It’s euphoric to exercise this part of me out and share it. The chorus was written in my apartment and the rest of it was finished on a vacation during the thick of the #metoo movement. I wrote parts in the middle of the night and tweaked it on the beach with a mini Taylor I had with me and my laptop.      

    Karolina Rose’s compelling track inspires listeners in an empowering way while on their own journeys of finding love and healing.

    https://soundcloud.com/karolinarose/