Donations will go directly towards the Jazz Foundation of America to support the music of our future while you watch. Party Brooklyn Bowl-style via Fans.com.
“We started Broolyn Bowl to bring people together to enjoy the magic of live music. We has a great run, open every night of the week, with people coming from every direction, and e loved hosting every type of musician and fan that you can imagine. Then we had to stop. Even though our stage is dark, we are still turning 11 years old. Having a birthday during this difficult time makes us want to get back to doing what we do more than ever. We will be back.”
– Peter Shapiro, founder Brooklyn Bowl
“We have had a lot of fun in our first 11 years! Because we’re closed temporarily, we now exist as a glowing sense memory of warm vibes, soft light, great sights, and sounds. A place that became a refuge from the ordinary crap in modern life. A place where we rediscovered the simple magic of coming together to celebrate life. This anniversary comes at a moment of enormous pain, stress, and loss for so many of us. But it’s also an opportunity — a giant reset button. All of us can practice greater kindness, mindfulness, and generosity of spirit. We all need to love each other and pull together. We will be back!”
Long Island based pop-punk band, Card Reader, released their newest single, “Sore Eyes,” in honor of the loss of a close friend to lead vocalist Tom Petito.
(From left to right) Guitarist Marc Lambert. guitarist/vocalist Tom Petito and drummer Rob Cigliano.
“I wrote this song after I lost a close friend. The message is resounding: life is short, any day could be your last so don’t settle for less. Go after your dreams unapologetically,” said Petito.
Card Reader made their first appearance to the music scene earlier this year with their debut single and music video, “Familiar Voices.”
Petito, drummer Rob Cigliano and guitarist Marc Lambert worked with other bands for 10 years until Petito wanted to start his own project and formed the trio. Petito said the creation of the band was to put passion at the forefront.
Card Reader has struggled since live music has been put on halt, but are determined to get their EP released by fall.
The band’s motto states, “believe in yourself unapologetically. Don’t settle for anything less than what makes you happy in life and in music. Surround yourself with people who believe in you and put your own stamp on what being in a band means.”
Brooklyn-based funk band Turkuaz recently launched their latest creative endeavor this past with “HEY YOU, STAY TUNED,” their hour-long recurring variety show available exclusively through the band’s Facebook and YouTube channels.
The pilot episode sees the eccentric nine-piece ensemble partake in a Hollywood Squares parody, aptly entitled “Turkuaz Squares.” Comedian Brett Siddell, who also recently launched his own comedy special via Vimeo, acts as announcer, while Sirius XM’s Ari Fink hosts the show. Additionally, special guests Andy Frasco and Eric “Benny” Bloom appear as contestants on the game show.
Gameshow antics are accompanied by a pop up video replay of Turkuaz’s official music video for 2017 single “On the Run,” which stars Chris Roberti from HBO’s High Maintenance and Comedy Central’s Broad City. Fans are also treated to never-before-released content from the band’s recent None’sA Ton concert film, with “Nightswimming” and “Coast to Coast” footage from the film spliced in.
Woods Fest Music Festival postponed its third annual festivities until 2021. The COVID-19 outbreak caused the festival to be moved till next year to protect everyone involved. The lineup includes local favorites like The Roots of Creation, The Old Main, and West End Blend.
The festival will take place the same weekend it usually does in August next year on August 7-8 of 2021. The festival will be held at Woods Valley Ski Area on State Route 46 in Westernville. Woods Fest was planning to expand to being a two days festival this year with limited camping available on site and is planning that same structure for 2021. The festival will be back with a newly renovated Woods Valley chalet as the backdrop next year.
“We are very disappointed to have to cancel this year’s event as it has quickly become an annual celebration of Central New York’s music, art and culture in its two years of existence,” The press release stated. It continued saying, “However, we feel the most prudent thing to do is to postpone this event until next year.”
The 2021 festival will have The Roots of Creation, The Old Main, West End Blend, Annie in the Water, Strange Machine, Blind Owl Band, Wild Adreatic, Sixfox Whiskey, Les Brers, Maddy Walsh and The Blind Spots, Brickdrop, Trampoline Jetstream, Kluster Phunk, Vaporeyes, Peak, Ramblin’ Brooks Band, with more to be announced.
For more information on the Woods Fest Music Festival visit their Facebook Page.
Being part of a team is great; when you’re part of a successful one – like Wu Tang Clan – even better. Yet, there may always be that inkling of wonder of what could be accomplished by oneself. For musical acts whose contributions to the world are dissected and compared to one another, that one little thought may be enough to isolate said artist from the group, not to mention the monetary differences between a solo artist and being part of a group.
Ego has played a part in the demise of many great factions — the likes of New Edition, NWA, The Fugees – they’ve all fallen victim to the individualistic desires of man. Yet, when tamed, this possibly destructive force can be channeled into producing some of the greatest albums in history. Bobby Brown’s Don’t Be Cruelfits in that mold, so does Ice Cube’s Amerikkas Most Wanted. This was also the case for one of the greatest Hip Hop albums ever. Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Lynx set the tone for a genre of mafioso themed albums that took the 90’s by storm.
Failing to distinguish himself from some of the other charismatic members of the Wu Tang Clan, the man known as “The Chef” was motivated to go out and make himself a classic body of work. And on August 1, 1995, Only Built 4 Cuban Lynx set a new standard for rap. The album received a 4.5 mic rating from The Source magazine (at the time, hip hop’s Bible). While the Method Man and Ghostface Killah assisted “Ice Cream,” was the LP’s most successful record, album cuts like “Verbal Intercourse” are what set the tone for the project. The twelfth track features a young Nas on the heels of his own soon-to-be classic, Illmatic, as well as Wu Tang mate Ghostface Killah – who plays a supporting role in the mafia movie themed album. Considered one of Nas’ best verses (which is saying something), it also stands as one of the greatest opening verses in history.
Wu Tang Clan – a tough act to follow
Nas sets the tone for the record early, rapping:
Through the lights cameras and action, glamour glitters and gold I unfold the scroll, plant seeds to stampede the globe.
When I’m deceased, by then the beast arise like yeast to conquer peace leaving savages to roam the streets.
With his newfound fame and fortune from his individual success, his principles haven’t changed, as he still plans to take over the world. And after he has long passed, he hopes to have planted enough seeds in the minds of the youth to bring about a revolution. A Queensbridge legend long before platinum albums, Nas’ lyrical aptitude was as shocking as his youth, as he was barely 21 at the time of this recording.
With ‘God’s Son’ written across his stomach, Nas looks to accomplish everything he prophesized.
On the second verse, Raekwon deliver’s a high-quality opening bar of his own.
Perhaps bullets bust, n**** discuss mad money true lies and white guys, we can see it through the eyes. Catch the most on tape, kilos disintegrate Pyrex pots, we break, fiends licking plates.
While Nas’ verse pertained to his yearning for a mental uprising, Raekwon keeps with the album’s theme. Describing the dangers that come with operating on the wrong side of the law.
On the song’s last verse, Ghostface Killah – maybe the most charismatic of the three – adds to the story, Further detailing the greed, jealousy, envy that comes with monetary success, with hopes of a light at the end of the tunnel.
With the green leathers, hundred-pound snakes and cakes. Fiends found in lakes, jealously jakes we shake. What I strive for is what I live for. Infatuated by material things in this wild life of war like somewhere over the rainbow, I see a big pot of gold.
“Verbal Intercourse” is defined as “conversation between more than one person.” But in this case, you could say they went a step further and f***ed the beat. The album featured every rapper in the Wu Tang Clan besides ODB, so Raekwon didn’t completely deviate from the already winning formula. Still, as the creative mastermind behind the LP, it helped Raekwon continue to establish himself as his own entity, outside of his groupmates. Debuting at number four on the Billboard charts, Only Built 4 Cuban Lynx sold 130,000 copies its first week, and while not a single, “Verbal Intercourse” saw each respective rapper plant seeds towards their now legendary status.
Brooklyn-based indie rock band Gooseberry has released their new single “The Protagonist.” The four-piece band met through mutual friends in the Brooklyn music and comedy scenes. After months of intermittent jam sessions in a makeshift apartment studio the Gooseberry Band became official in Fall 2019. The band consists of Asa Daniels (guitar/vocals), Colin Ashen (drums), Sam Rappaport (keys, vocals), and Will Hammond (bass).
Their mix of indie rock, blues, and R&B captures each member’s interests. Sam Rappaport brings the R&B flavor, inspired by the greats like Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, and D’Angelo. Will Hammond leans more towards the indie scene, rock and folk. Asa Daniels bridges the gap in-between, having grown up playing jazz and blues and learning licks from heroes like Thelonious Monk, Eric Krasno, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. He has been pursuing music for nearly a decade, having had some early success with his band, Baked Goods.
Their first single “Berkshires” (listen below) goes back to major influences like D’Angelo, Donny Hathaway, and Stevie Wonder, while their newest “The Protagonist” showcases a more alternative/indie sound in the styles of the Foo Fighters, Courtney Barnett, Arctic Monkeys, and Spoon. Before the pandemic, Gooseberry had a biweekly residency at Harefield Road in Brooklyn, where they were steadily growing a devoted audience around their live shows. They had been gigging fairly regularly in and around New York City, running the full gamut of venues from The Cobra Club to DROM to house shows across the boroughs.
Asa Daniels shares his story on how he came up with “The Protagonist”:
This song started out as a little earworm that I couldn’t quite shake. I’d sit in my apartment in my little makeshift studio and play for hours and end up back on this tiny melody, and each time it would grow. A little more power here, a little distortion there. Before I knew it, there was this thing, this song, and the lyrics just fell into place. The Protagonist is a little about how we are all the lead actors of our own movies, and a lot about smiling as you lose control. The song’s title is tongue-in-cheek, but I’ve always been fascinated by points of view, the idea that we really are all the centers of our own universes, and so on. There’s a joke that those close to me know I always make. It usually comes after an impassioned speech from a friend, a major cultural event, or just a story told by someone else. It’s most effective after there’s a lull of awkward silence. I’ll usually think pensively for a moment, then look at someone and say, ‘Right, but how does this affect me, the protagonist?’ While I’m generally looking for laughs when I say that, underneath the statement is a question that I think a lot of folks are grappling with right now as the country is rife with pandemic, civil unrest, and political rancor. We may each be our own protagonist, but the story is empty if it involves no other characters. It’s important to care for one another, speak out for one another, help one another. Especially as things spiral, often beyond our control.
In response to the first six months of this “rollercoaster year,” Ben Folds has written a new single “2020.”
The song expresses Folds’ take on 2020. “We seem to be currently reliving and cramming a number of historically tumultuous years into one,” he says. “For a moment it was all about the 1918 pandemic. Then we began seeing hints of the Great Depression before flipping the calendar forward to the Civil Rights protests of the 1960’s. Running beneath this is the feeling that we’re in the Cold War, while seeing elements that brought us to the Civil War rearing their head, making us wonder if we’ve learned a damn thing at all.”
At the start of this year, Folds was on an orchestral tour of Australia. However, it was cancelled due to the pandemic, and is set to continue in 2021 along with his US tour. Since quarantine, Folds has been working on his next album, the sequel to his 2019 New York Times best selling memoir A Dream About Lightning Bugs, and other new creative projects.
Folds notes that the current sense of accelerated time is not only “personally disorienting,” but “also artistically disorienting.” The single is about that, how so much seems to happen each day that topics can be “out of date or even inappropriate by noon.” “2020” touches on the fact that this year seems like several past years crammed into one.
Despite today’s stress, Folds optimistically hopes for a better 2021 to come. “2020” is available for streaming now.
CFCU Summer Concert Series is coming back in 2020 taking to the virtual stage. The concert series will start on July 9 and runs every week until September 24. The concert series will include big names like Danielle Ponder and the Tomorrow People, Terrapin Station, and The Gunpoets.
This will be the CFCU Summer Concert Series’s 21st annual free concert series in Downtown Ithaca, NY. The concert series is organized by the Downtown Ithaca Alliance and CFCU Community Credit Union is the keynote sponsor. The Ithaca Downtown Business Improvement District (IDBID) operates as The Downtown Ithaca Alliance. It is a 01c3 not-for-profit organization charged with the revitalization, development, promotion, and management of downtown Ithaca.
The concert series will kick off with Luke G & the Candyhearts on July 9. The series will than host: Empire Kings, Mr. McBean, Danielle Ponder and the Tomorrow People, Notorious String Busters : Mijail Martínez & The Cantina Ramblers, Fall Creek Brass Band, Terrapin Station, Alex Cano, Maddy Walsh and the Blind Spots, The Comb Down, Gunpoets, Swamp Kids, and then wrap things up with Kevin Kinsella on September 24.
The concerts are usually held at the Bernie Milton Pavilion on the Commons; however, this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the shows will appear virtually on Downtown Ithaca’s Facebook page until further notice. The series will feature a variety of musical styles, with local, regional, national, and international performing artists and will start at 6:00 pm every Thursday.
The 2020 CFCU Summer Concert Series Schedule and lineup:
July 9 Luke G & the Candyhearts
July 16 Empire Kings: Mr. McBean
July 23 Danielle Ponder and the Tomorrow People
July 30 Notorious String Busters : Mijail Martínez & The Cantina Ramblers
Aug. 6 Fall Creek Brass Band
Aug. 13 Terrapin Station
Aug. 20 Alex Cano
Aug. 27 Maddy Walsh and the Blind Spots
Sept. 3 The Comb Down
Sept. 10 Gunpoets
Sept. 17 Swamp Kids
Sept. 24 Kevin Kinsella
Check out this stream and more through our series NY Stream and Support, where you’ll discover artists around the Empire State streaming nightly, and ways to support musicians and charitable groups close to home!
Charlie Daniels, legendary American singer-songwriter, died at the age of 83 on July 6 after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke. He was a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and wrote the hit, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.”
Charlie Daniels in concert at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California. Photo by Dwight McCann.
Daniels was born on October 28, 1936, in Wilmington, North Carolina. He had a musical background with his father William Carlton Daniels who played fiddle and guitar. Daniels quickly learned both instruments while in school before forming his own group the Jaguars, in the late 1950s.
Daniels started writing his own music after forming Jaguars and ended up writing “It Hurts Me,” which was a collaboration with Joy Byers that ended up being a Top 40 hit for the B-side of Elvis Presley’s album Kissin’ Cousins in 1964. After Jaguars broke up Daniels moved to Nashville in 1967 and teamed up with producer Bob Johnston. Daniels became a well known and successful session musician. He worked on albums like Bob Dylan’s “Nashville Skyline” and Leonard Cohen’s “Songs of Love and Hate.”
Daniels then recorded his first album under his name in 1970. The solo album was titled “Charlie Daniels” and didn’t make much of a splash. He then signed with Kama Sutra label and recorded “Uneasy Rider” before he ended up landing with Epic Records in 1975. Having two dozen hits on the country charts and four then crossed over on to the pop charts including “The Devil” and “In America” Daniels was a house hold name. The hit song, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” was written and released on the Charlie Daniels Band’s album Million Mile Reflections in 1979.
Danial received the Pioneer Award by the Academy of Country Music in 1998. He than received the BMI Icon Award at the 53rd annual Country Music Awards in 2005. He joined the Grand Ole Opry in 2008 and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016.
Daniels will be greatly missed from the music community. We mourn his loss and send our condolences to his family and friends.
For the past 18 years the Northwest String Summit has been a festival catering to all things string. Country, folk and bluegrass artists, well-known and just discovered, would descend upon Horning’s Hideout. Festival-goers can listen to the music and enjoyed a myriad of activities including but not limited to arts and crafts, glamping, yoga, and instrument building.
Unfortunately, COVID-19 has created the conditions in which having a traditional festival would be dangerous. In the interest of public safety, the event has closed its on-site activities. Even though the physical festival is no longer possible, the lockdown has not stifled the creativity of the artists that were slated to attend the summit this year.
To connect fans to artists, the Northwest String Summit has gone virtual.
Over 28 different artists will be streaming their performances live or remote this July 17-19 on LiveXLive. Archival footage spanning the history of the event will be sprinkled in-between sets. Thirty hours of never-seen-before footage will be shown. All of the proceeds will go back to the artists, crew, and industry. The Early Bird special pricing of $29.99 will be available until July 7 for this three-night event.
Check out this stream and more through our series NY Stream and Support. You’ll discover artists around the Empire State streaming nightly, with ways to support musicians and charitable groups close to home!
