Each Sunday evening from 7-9pm you’ll find EQXposure on WEQX, featuring two hours of local music from up and coming artists. Tune into WEQX.com this Sunday night to hear new music from Northsidesound, Annie Scherer and many more!
WEQX has long been the preeminent independent station in the Capital Region of New York, broadcasting from Southern VT to an ever-expanding listening audience. NYS Music brings you a preview of artists to discover each week, just a taste of the talent waiting to be discovered by fans like you.
“Five” by Northsidesound out of Albany kicks off EQXposure on Sunday. Pearson says of the group, “The fastest and probably the worst comparison to make to describe their sound is to recall Sublime – however, that seems far too weak of a link to pin this band down. The vibe of tune “Five” is only similar, but the playing of all the musicians on the cut share a glimpse of things to to come. There seems to be nothing that these guys can’t achieve and this song is outstanding to say the least – fun, hip shaking, and some truly great guitar playing and melodies.”
Annie Scherer‘s “ You know” is up later in the show. Annie is celebrating the release of her album Garden Bed, and her latest single “You Know,” which debuted on 102.7 FM WEQX this past Thursday, is a gorgeous piece of music. A slow jam that is magnetic and infectious, peering directly into the soul of the listener. Annie’s melody and lyrics are so deeply personal and direct, it’s as if she is singing directly to and about the listener.
Throughout the past year, we’ve all had more time on our hands. Some of us made sourdough and/or banana bread, we’ve worked on our houses, worked out, and made the best of the circumstances. One art teacher from Long Island, Brian Baker, came across LEGOs that a friend was looking to get rid of, combined his love for moe. and new found skills in stop-motion animation. The result is “moe.rons on parade,” capturing the spirit of a moe. show in LEGO form.
Having taught art in K-12 in the Three Village School District in Stony Brook, NY, Baker, like every other art teacher across the country, was put in a tough position last spring – how to teach art online. With such a tactile and hands-on subject needing virtual or least socially distanced lessons, improvisation was needed. In the past year, Baker learned the art form of stop-motion animation, one that he will be bringing to his students after learning the basics at home.
A 2003 graduate of Hartwick College where he majored in Fine Arts and played lacrosse, he’s been coaching junior high football and JV lacrosse at various schools on Long Island since he graduated college, recently and at various other schools for nearly 20 years.
Baker first saw moe. at the Oneonta Fieldhouse on April 28, 2001, possibly the only time they’ve played the town. He had heard them a few years before and had a few albums. And having only seen a lot of Phish prior, it was time to diversify.
“moe.rons on parade” features “Four” and “32 Things” with Baker telling a short story of a young couple’s first experience at a moe. show through LEGO characters. The video shows quite the effort and love for the band on his part, one that will not only satisfy veteran moe. fans, but newcomers as well.
Pete Mason: What’s your teaching background and how did you start in on this moe. LEGO project?
Brain Baker: This is my 14th and by far craziest year of teaching, and I think that helped generate this project. I am currently teaching 7th-9th grade and have anywhere between 15-20 kids in class and 1-10 kids remote on a Google meet at the same time. Trying to make things equitable has been a challenge. We have to make sure everyone has the same materials. On a normal year, I would have kids, be making clay boxes, cutting stencils for acid etching, creating stained glass mosaics, cutting glass bottles, weaving baskets, making jewelry and other hands on stuff. A lot of these things aren’t practical or safe for kids to use unsupervised at home. So we have had to get creative with what we can do.
Last March when schools started closing and throughout the summer, I really challenged myself to learn some new skills so when we came back to school I had some fresh and fun projects for kids to do. They deserve it. Their whole universe got totally upended last spring and they need some fun social things to get it back to normal. Also, I am not allowed to collect artwork from kids, just photos. So how do we show off their work? I learned a lot about the iMovie program and other animation software by putting together some short clips of student work.
I learned a lot about the imovie program this year. They say kids are really resilient which is true, they adapt to things very well. It was a real challenge figuring out all the technical things (lighting, camera angles, focus, computer skills) and I had quite a few mishaps along the way. But it was an awesome way to spend some time and I am looking forward to seeing people’s reactions. I am having a few friends over for an outdoor viewing on the projector Saturday night. I am also looking forward to showing my students the edited version. I shared all the different steps and clips with them along the way and they want to see the end result.
PM: So it seems you’ve had some time on your hands. When did you start this project and what kickstarted the concept for you?
BB: Well, as a dad of a 2 year old girl (Althea) and a 4 year old boy (Frederick), time is something in short supply these days. They are “full speed ahead” kids. Even though Covid cancelled my coaching gigs for a while, it has still been a busy year for my wife Liz and I trying to keep them active and engaged. Last March when everything started shutting down, I kept my sanity by getting us outside and building stuff. We started with a small kids train made from my old deck wood. Then we built a 9-hole mini golf course in the backyard. My son helped me through the whole thing. And I did several other backyard recycling projects. But this project really was the perfect storm. I started teaching an animation class this year, and my friend’s kid really wanted a puppy. So his compromise was the play room was going to be the puppy room. The LEGOs have to go.
So I got a huge supply of LEGOs to play with. My son loves building things and mechanics, so he was instantly in love. And with the animation class we have already done a ton of drawing, so this will be a nice “mix it up” project for the fourth quarter. I mostly worked on this project at night after they were in bed or sometimes I would have them come down and play LEGOs with me during the day. With stop-motion, you generally use a remote shutter, so I was also able to include my 4 year old in some of the photo taking process. He helped build a few of the smaller pieces as well. I started putting the stage together in the beginning of February and then began shooting photos later in the month. Once it got rolling I pretty much worked on it everyday until I was done for anywhere between 15 minutes and 7 hours. After I saw the band post the pics on their page I practically lived in the basement that weekend.
PM: How many hours did it take to complete the construction, prior to filming?
BB: Building the stage and all the sets and characters took maybe 5 or 6 hours over the course of a week. The photos took a month and a half of many, many hours. I took somewhere around 30,000 photos.
PM: Is this your first foray into stop-motion animation?
BB: I did a short stop-motion a few years ago on powerpoint and my son and I made a police station getting smashed by the Incredible Hulk earlier in the winter, but this was my first real serious stop motion project. It was a huge learning experience.
PM: Any fun Easter Eggs or tips of the hat that you worked in?
BB: Yes. You’ll have to look. Lets just say there are some band references and funny characters.
PM: What is your favorite moe. song and moe. experience?
BB: Favorite song? That’s like picking a favorite kid! Let’s just say there are no moe. songs I don’t like. There are a few Grateful Dead ones I don’t enjoy, quite a few Phish songs I can’t stand, but I love moe. They play music exactly how I like music to be played. The diverse influences and song writing styles are awesome. The first time I listened to them was NYE ’99. A buddy put on “Rebubula” and I said to myself “Yes….this is what I’m looking for in my life.” I think we listened to the No Doy album three or four times that night. I went and picked up a few more albums and some shows on tape. The rest is history. I’ve only seen 60+ shows, but I listen to them more than anything else. I try to catch every live webcast or the old Facebook Live streams (remember those?). Big ups to the moe.stream team for setting up quality live show audio streams.
moe. fans are an awesome group of people. I have had some great conversations through the years, connected with cool people and shared tons of fun experiences. This is my 16 minute and 30 second thank you to them and the band.
March – it comes in like a lion and out like it’s been trampled by lambs and pecked by the dove. For Phish’s next installment of Dinner and a Movie, they’ll feature a show from the band’s famed April 1998 “Island Tour,” specifically April 4, 1998.
The show at Providence Civic Center is a perfect sample of how the cow funk from Fall 1997 continued four months later in a fan favorite run of shows. Reportedly the hardest ticket of the run, this show features must hear versions of “2001,” “Brother,” and “Ghost,” not to mention the “Tweezer” show opener.
For the dinner portion of the evening, Chef Sara Bradley, the chef and proprietor at Louisville, KY’s The Freight House, has prepared a menu for the evening. She has recently received runner-up honors on Season 16 of Top Chef, and is also a Phish fan. Sara offers up recipes for Melty Grilled Cheese with Piquillo Pepper and Tomato Soup, and Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies for dessert. Find full recipes here.
While the webcast is free, fans are encouraged to make donations through Phish’s The Waterwheel Foundation. The evening’s beneficiary will be Northeast Organic Farming Association, with donations being split between the New York and Rhode Island chapters. The Northeast Organic Farming Association an organization of farmers, consumers, gardeners and environmentalists working together to promote organic farming and organic land care practices resulting in a sustainable regional food system that’s ecologically sound, economically viable and socially just. For more information visit NOFA.org.
Dinner and a Movie will air on Tuesday, March 30 at 8:30pm ET at webcast.livephish.com.
Island Tour Setlist courtesy of Phish.net
April 4, 1998, Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI
Soundcheck: Jam, Shafty, Roggae
Set 1: Tweezer > Taste, Bouncing Around the Room, Funky Bitch, Ginseng Sullivan, Limb By Limb, Lawn Boy, Character Zero
Set 2: Birds of a Feather > Also Sprach Zarathustra[1] > Brother[2], Ghost -> The Lizards, David Bowie
Encore: Harry Hood
[1] Unfinished. [2] With short instrumental reprise.
2001 contained a Long Train Runnin’ tease from Trey and was unfinished. Brother included a brief Dave’s Energy Guide tease and was followed by a short instrumental reprise, which was announced as the “radio-friendly version.” Trey contrasted this with the normal version, which was deemed un-radio-friendly due to its length. Ghost, which Trey jokingly remarked was also not radio-friendly because it is long and slow, included an I Can’t Turn You Loose tease. This show is available as an archival release on LivePhish.com.
Syracuse’s Vaporeyes has released the video for “Donye Wump,” off their recently released album Cantrips. Having premiered on Friday, March 19th, the video was shot in the Salt City, as well as in and around band practice spaces.
With a goal of creating a video that their fans and others used to their shenanigans wouldn’t expect, band member Jonas Reddy-Nicholson, shared insight on the video:
We had an idea of a conflict happening in this video. The lyrics I wrote very much came from a place of inner conflict, wanting change, and “killing the past,” so Shannon (bass) wanted to play with the conflict idea as much as possible. But we kept the fight between ourselves and our “other” selves, or inner demons in the video so people didn’t think it was some statement or something. It’s not. We just had fun with it. The name of the song actually has nothing to do with anything. Sometimes we just really try to blur the line between goofy and serious/heartfelt.
Jonas Reddy-Nicholson
“Donye Wump” was directed by Thomas Calandra of Synthesis Films (also a member of metal band Bleak), with Director of Photography Mark Kelley, both of whom entertained the band’s wacky ideas and kept Vaporeyes on track to finish the shoot in four days.
When we came to them with the idea of a fight scene VS ourselves for the end of the song, we thought they would turn it down. But not only were they into it and knew how to make it work, they had some ideas of their own. Thomas asked how we felt about drawing inspiration from the goofy gang fight in Stanley Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange.”
We were into it, so we all sat on the couch and watched the fight together the day before the fight scene shoot. We are so glad they were into the fight, and they really did a great job. That’s even Thomas getting the glass broken on his head in the beginning, per his insistence. (Movie prop bottle, don’t worry).
Jonas Reddy-Nicholson
Vaporeyes recently made it to the Elite 8 of NYS Music’s March Madness. Check out more on them here and watch the video for “Donye Wump” below.
The Disco Biscuits’ upcoming Orlando performances from Dr. Phillips Center’s Frontyard Festival will be livestreamed on Couchtour.tv on Thursday, March 25 and Friday, March 26, starting at 7:30pm ET.
Couchtour.tv is a new concert streaming platform that gives artists the ability to create the highest quality concert livestreams available on the internet; filmed and delivered in 6k video and high def audio from anywhere on Earth – and all without the artist having to know a thing about livestreaming.
The Couchtour.tv team brings insight from many different facets of both the entertainment and tech industries. The senior team comes from leadership roles at companies The Disco Biscuits, JamBase, Splice, Gracenote, Full Circle Music Productions, Oracle and IBM. Still in it’s infant stages, fans and artists can expect to see advanced features and new artists, shows and festivals announced in the coming months.
Disco Biscuits founding member and lead guitarist, Jon Barber, is the founder of Couchtour.tv. Thus, it made perfect sense for his band to perform on the startup platform when it launched in October, 2020.
Couchtour.tv wasn’t a new idea, but time that would have otherwise been spent on the road opened up the space to finally bring Couchtour.tv to fruition. We’ve got a great team working on this, but it’s still gonna’ be a few months before we can roll this out in its complete form – bells, whistles and all – then it’ll be available wherever fans go to get their apps.
Jon Barber, Disco Biscuits guitarist and founder of CouchTour.Tv
Tickets for the Disco Biscuits Orlando streams are on sale now and available at Couchtour.tv.
Goose has announced the release of their eagerly awaited new album, Shenanigans Nite Club, slated for a Friday, June 4 release. They’ll embark on a summer tour, of which the first dates are already sold out. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, March 24 at Noon via pre-sale, with code ‘SHENANIGANS,’ with general on-sale following on Friday, March 26 at 10AM local time.
The Norwalk, CT-based band’s second studio LP and first full-length collection in more than five years, Shenanigans Nite Club, which follows the recent release of their cover of Vampire Weekend’s “2021 (January 5th, to be exact).” The track was personally commissioned by Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig – a longtime Goose fan – with the only directive to make it twenty minutes and twenty-one seconds long.
Shenanigans Nite Club is led by a the mesmerizing new single, “Spirit of the Dark Horse,” which is generally recognized as the first Goose song ever written. The boldly ambitious track – which originated after a “twelve-minute meditation” between co-founders Rick Mitarotonda (vocals, guitar) and Trevor Weekz (bass) – has long been a setlist rarity, featured in only a handful of live performances during the band’s early years.
The album serves as an ode to oft-forgotten vestiges of Goose’s musical journey, both personal and collective. Shenanigans Nite Club marks the apex of the rich history between friends of differing ages and experiences from the same small town in Connecticut, drawn together through a deep love of music and storytelling. Songs like the tectonic “Labyrinth” and the ruminative deep-dive, “SOS,” fluidly traverse genres with head-spinning hooks, technical fireworks, and the kind of rare chemistry only possible among truly close collaborators.
While we’ve been touring, the record has been happening in the background. It’s been quite the process. At times, it was difficult. The record is a companion to those growing pains.
Our dream is to inspire people to step off the beaten path. There are a lot of voices that tell you to play it safe. I think the coolest thing in the world is when someone breaks free and goes for whatever weird shit they dream of doing.
May 3-4 – Frederick, MD – Showtime At The Drive-In – SOLD OUT May 6 – North Charleston, SC – Riverfront Park – SOLD OUT May 8-9 – Pelham, TN – The Caverns Above Ground Amphitheater – SOLD OUT June 11 – Swanzey, NH – Northlands June 12-13 – New Haven, CT – Westville Music Bowl June 15-16 – Perry, NY – Silver Lake Drive In June 18-19 – Thornville, OH – Legend Valley July 2-3 – Eau Claire, WI – The Pines Music Park
Socially distanced shows are returning to the Northeast, and Westville Music Bowl in New Haven, CT has a growing lineup well worth traveling for.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead (JRAD) has become the latest group to announce shows at the venue. They’ll perform on May 28, 29 and 30 as part of the venue’s “Twilight Concerts Under The Stars” series. JRAD follows The Disco Biscuits, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Gov’t Mule and more who have announced shows at the venue, just a 1 hour drive from the NY border on I-95.
Additional artists slated for Westville Music Bowl include Gov’t Mule (April 30, May 1), Twiddle (May 15), The Disco Biscuits (June 4-5), Pigeons Playing Ping Pong (June 26) and Tedeschi Trucks Band (July 17). More concerts are expected to be announced.
Tickets to shows are sold in sets of 2 and 4, with a minimum of 6 feet social distance from other seats, and floor seats will be sold exclusively in sets of 4, according to the venue website.
Tickets to the JRAD New Haven shows go on sale Friday, March 26 at 12 p.m. ET. For all other tickets, as well as additional information including all health and safety protocols visit westvillemusicbowl.com.
Each Sunday evening from 7-9pm you’ll find EQXposure on WEQX, featuring two hours of local music from up and coming artists. Tune into WEQX.com this Sunday night to hear new music from Fine Grain, Joe Mansmen and many more!
WEQX has long been the preeminent independent station in the Capital Region of New York, broadcasting from Southern VT to an ever-expanding listening audience. NYS Music brings you a preview of artists to discover each week, just a taste of the talent waiting to be discovered by fans like you.
This week’s EQXposure starts with Cameron Clark’s “Martha and her Tin Soldier.” This incredible tune is full of clever twists and glitches. Super creative, it is as if St. Vincent went even deeper and stretched beyond the catchy ear worms to make some true art.
Fine Grain are gearing up for the release of their brand new full length LP, Missing Adult on Thursday, March 25th. Mixed and recorded in Brunswick, NY, Fine Grain’s post-punk brilliance runs deep with exceptional songwriting and performances of every member of the band. Some musicians are simply meant to play together and it’s only that specific combination that makes the sound so pure and authentically them. Fine Grain is that band. “Missing Adult” is as exciting as it is cool.
Joe Mansmen and the Midnight Revival have a new single “Renegade Love” that hits the airwaves one day before the release of their brand new LP Renegadez. Glam rock may have taken a nap, but Joe Mansmen and the Midnight Revival band has unleashed the beast that laid dormant in all the tight paints cut up t-shirts to revive a style that was everyone’s favorite even though the feared admitting the raw visceral attraction to the pleasing distorted guitars and massive beats.
Like many musicians, Jason Pariseau has been writing a lot of music over the past year. And as some artists discover, what they write may not fit with their current group and they branch out from there. For Pariseau, this meant that while some songs fit the mold for his group Periodic Table of Elephants (PToE), some had an alternative/indie rock sound. Thus, The Ribbon Project was born.
Pariseau wrote songs that were inspired by artists like The National, Bear’s Den, Novo Amor, and others, with “Medicine” the first of the new batch. Since the process to record these songs took a while due to the collaborative process, he decided to release these one-by-one, instead of waiting for an all at once EP release.
With a small pile of acoustic folk songs and a great deal of potential for them, Pariseau took the idea to Josh Pettinger at Wicked Squid Studios. They talked about the best way to approach the project, and instead of trying to synthesize everything in the studio, Pettinger encouraged him to lean on the local music scene in Rochester. When Pariseau started reaching out, the response was overwhelmingly positive.
As an indie-acoustic project featuring various musicians from the Rochester area, The Ribbon Project features PToE drummer Sean Scanlon on all tracks. For “Medicine,” Jason and Sean are joined by Joel Boyer (banjo), Arjun Baxter (upright bass), Ian Downey (cello), and Darren DeWispelaere (trumpet).
With the feedback received from the first song, Pariseau is looking to bring The Ribbon Project to a live audience sometime later this summer. Still, the group of musicians have not played together in person just yet.
The way the first song came together far exceeded my expectations. And, what has been an interesting approach is that at no time have all of these musicians been together to play the song. Everything was done digitally by sharing tracks and ideas, then having each person come into the studio one-by-one to record their parts. Once one person was done, I’d send the track to the next person, and they would add on their layers. Each person building on the previous person’s track. It’s been a fantastic project. The next song is about 50% done, and will include a different group of musicians.
While the next evolution of PToE will be a step back from 90s punk, and pay homage to other 90s bands like Hum, Failure and Our Lady Peace, The Ribbon Project will set forth on an indie route, adding to the rich music scene waiting to burst open once again in the Flower City.
Catch Pariseau perform virtually at “Homegrown Presents: Going Green Party” streamed from Lovin’ Cup in Rochester. The stream kicks off at 2pm on Saturday, March 20th.
Forward People. It can mean a direction, or it can describe a group of people. With room for interpretation built into the title, Trey Anastasio shared his latest pandemic production, “Forward People,” on March 18. The release coincides with his first pandemic release on March 18, 2020, “Lost in the Pack.”
With a full Ghosts of the Forest vibe, Anastasio utilizes the Rescue Squad Strings, as well as a horn section, creating a full sound that is reminiscent of GOTF’s “Drift While You’re Sleeping.” For more than 14 minutes, horns and strings accent Anastasio’s uplifting and emotional surprise release.
The opening lyrics to the ballad have a positive, uplifting vibe, something that has been Anastasio’s trademark in the past decade – “Light,” “More,” “Everything’s Right,” “The Greater Good,” “A Wave of Hope” – among others.
We are one, you are not alone, all things are connected, and we are reaping what we’ve sown. But even out there on your own, We cannot be divided, You are not alone, You’re never really alone.
“Forward People” lyrics – Trey Anastasio
The song continues to touch on themes of self-reliance, hope and perseverance, Anastasio sings “Sway in the light… an invisible hand is conducting the melody. We think that we are composing, but the music is pointing beyond me now,” a broader universal theme that has been seen in his pandemic recordings.
One of the most restless musicians during the pandemic, Anastasio had recently spoken with WCAX, hinting at Phish’s plans for this year, and if something was in the works. Trey slyly said “I’ve got a secret.” It’s safe to say Anastasio has more than one secret, with a composition like this up his sleeve and the potential for a return to the stage, with audiences, possible as soon as the fall.
