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 Bendt, Rhoseway 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 featured artist on EQXPosure is Bendt. With gritty, dynamic, and atmospheric rip-roaring creative rock music, Bendt celebrate the release of their new single “January,” released on Friday January 29. On Sunday evening, we’ll also hear three from last year’s release, Brightness in The Barrnes.
Benddt – made up of Matt Plummer (singer and guitar player), John Longo (bass), Carl Blackwood (lead guitar) and Cody Bingham (drummer) came together 2015 with a mutual love of hard rock, metal, and sounds in-between. Bendt has a sound that is evocative, personal, as well as searingly loud and at times perfectly aggressive. Riffs that rumble are balanced by unique chord stacking and brilliant melodies and solid perfroamces of each song.
Also featured on EQXposure is new artist Rhoseway with a pre-release cut “Deep Valley,” which hits all streaming sites on February 5, 2021. Rhoseway is very creative and the music takes many interesting musical turns. This is a very exciting artist to keep an ear out for.
It was January 29, 1990 in Central New York and, yes, it was snowing. Fans who attended the Phish show that night at The (original) Haunt in Ithaca did so battling a blizzard and poor roads, which caused the band to arrive late, quickly set up and, after a live soundcheck, got the show on the road.
Phish has played sporadically in the Fingerlakes Region of New York throughout their career, most notably and recently, Superball IX, Magnaball and shows in Canandaigua at CMAC. Their early years in the college town of Ithaca proved to be formative, bringing the band to town multiple times between 1988-1992 before graduating to larger venues like Finger Lakes Performing Arts Center (now CMAC).
The Haunt in Ithaca c.1990 (photo is not from the 1/29/90 Phish show)
From Phish’s bar years, this is an early era show that captures the band when they played to their early fans, many seeing the Burlington group for the first time. After a three-night run in May 1988, Phish would return to The Haunt in Ithaca for a show on January 29, 1990, with a loud and rowdy 18-and-over audience.
The partial tape of the show starts in the middle of “The Lizards” and continues through a “Harpua” and “Fire” encore, a setlist that is culled together thanks to David Schanker’s and Todd Ahrens’ audience recording. Thus, there is no known first set for this show.
You can hear the audience from this show quite distinctly, elated when each song ends, and fans screaming out requests despite the band being barely six years old. You may even catch drunks screaming into the mic, which was set up on the bar. One patron this night can be heard saying “Nothing like this has ever been done at The Haunt, unbelieveable man!” Quite the frozen-in-time seal of approval.
Recording aside, this is a smoking show musically, particularly for the “Weekapaug Groove” and a “Harpua” that has a tough to discern narration but full of “Purple Haze” teases. That said, you’ll get a fair idea of what it was like to see Phish at the original Haunt in Ithaca.
Dan Smalls, Ithaca-area promoter and head of DSP Shows was at the January 29, 1990 show and shared his recollections with NYS Music:
It was about as classic a Phish set as you get from the very early days. I always loved how they chose popular and also odd songs to cover, teases in jams and the like. That was a part of who they are today and was a huge bit of fun at the festivals we produced where they would learn a song backstage between sets.
My recollection is also vague but the room was solidly crowded in this era (unlike 1988 when we had a handful for those first few shows) and the band was on the cusp of the next step at this point. I remember that the band was playing The Haunt at least once a semester and often 3-4 times a year in these days. It’s where I got to know them and these shows were always fun because Fish’s parents would come down from where they lived outside Syracuse.
Phish would go on to play The Haunt another four times in 1990, then move up to the State Theatre of Ithaca for two shows in 1991. They returned the next year to perform at Cornell University campus in November 1992, the last shows for the band in the city.
NYS Music today announces The Rochester Groovecast Podcast as a returning partner and will be publishing all the major episodes starting February 2021. Since releasing their first episode in 20016, Rochester Groovecast has published over 100 episodes and counting.
To get started, check out this playlist of their most popular episodes:
At Rochester Groovecast, the mantra “We’re Fans First!” harnasses the belief that the best businesses are built by fans. Rochester Groovecast is deeply dedicated to playing an active role in the culture of its local scene.
The brainchild of Rochester native Ben Albert, Ben created Rochester Groovecast in 2016 to serve as a portfolio of the city, and nowadays, the entire region.
Rochester Groovecast believes in the artistic brilliance abundant in Rochester, NY, and the surrounding regions. Ben seeks to play a pivotal role in our community by helping give Rochester a well-earned voice. Having seen first hand the abundance of talent, character, creativity, innovation, and beauty the Flower City has continuously offered. Albert is confident that the Rochester scene could be the next great music scene in America, akin to Austin, Chicago, New Orleans, or Nashville.
The Rochester Groovecast Podcast help bring this vision to life with interviews, reviews, previews, and audio journeys to good to ignore.
Siena: “Ben Albert at Rochester Groovecast is ambitious, kind, and community-oriented. He truly cares about the Rochester community and actively lifts up voices that add value and strength to our culture. Most of all, he cares about music and the people that create it. He’s the guy to go to if you’re looking for someone who understands both music AND business, creating AND marketing. He knows the right questions to ask you to dig deeper into what your brand is and who you are as a musician. I’m grateful to know Ben as a human and grateful to have had the opportunity to be on his Rochester Groovecast podcast, which makes me proud to live and work in Rochester.”
Amanda Ashley of The Amanda Ashley Trio, Afternoon Cocktail: “Ben is an amazing host and a true asset to the Rochester Music Community. His love, dedication, and support of creativity isbeyond apparent in his broadcast. He is a genuine soul, and that truly comes across in his interviews.”
Charlie Lindner of The Pickle Mafia: “Rochester Groovecast does an excellent job at buildingawareness for our brand! Using interactive multimedia we were able to obtain new customersand engage with them directly.”
Kevleb: “I have had the chance to work with the Rochester Groovecast for my album release. During the COVID confinement, it was a great relief to be able to share my music on this platform. Ben suggested a few strategies to widen my audience and make the content accessible on social media. It felt productive and well prepared and allowed me to share my vision in an ideal setting. It is great to have the Groovecast support the local scene.”
Once again, NYSMusic is excited to feature The Rochester Groovecast Podcast. Keep your eyes open for many more episodes to come.
Rocker Frank Palangi brings the fourth installment of his music video series with “Bring on the Fear.” Following “Break These Chains,” “Set Me Free” and “Gone Mad,” Palangi brings COVID-19 to light with a tale of caution, shedding light with the message that we are all in this together, to use faith to face your fear, without hate.
The video and song is a statement for the times, saying we are in this together, to not to be afraid and face the fear.
For this video, I reached out to fans from the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Turkey to send in their video clips to be edited into the video. I always like to include them and due to COVID-19, I thought it was perfect since in the song I ask them to sing “Bring on the Fear.”
“Bring On The Fear” is the first self directed, produced, written and all in-house edited production from Palangi Films. Palangi notes that he always loved making films since a young age and figured now would be a great time to put that to work. The video is a one-man show in this regard, and due to COVID-19, he had to get creative. His friends and he would make small shorts with only two or three people, and that past experience was good prep.
Frank Palangi an indie rock recording artist is freshly homegrown in Upstate New York who pours the fuel on the genre that refuses to die.
Vegan Phish fans, rejoice. Ben & Jerry’s, the Vermont-based company and freezer staple who launched Phish Food in 1997, has announced the release of a non-dairy version of the beloved frozen dessert today.
Featuring the same great taste with none of the dairy found in traditional Phish Food, the non-dairy version arrives thanks to fan requests.
We’re so excited to finally give fans Non-Dairy Phish Food. It’s been one of the most requested flavors for us to make vegan. And partnering with WaterWheel and Jim Pollock is the perfect way to celebrate the launch. We can’t wait to see how Phish fans get creative with this contest.
Jay Curley, Global Head of Integrated Marketing at Ben & Jerry’s
Ben and Jerry’s has long maintained their relationship with Phish, starting with the launch of Phish Food in March, 1997, with a kickoff benefit at the Flynn Theater in Burlington. The Waterwheel Foundation serves as the beneficiary of all proceeds from the sale of Phish Food, helping to clean Lake Champlain and promote charitable organizations in towns where Phish performs.
In the past, Ben & Jerry’s has held the world’s largest cowbell ensemble in the band and ice cream maker’s hometown of Burlington VT, and created special one-off flavors available only at Phish shows, such as Freezer Reprise at the Baker’s Dozen and It’s Ice Cream, in pre-pandemic days.
As a part of the release of non-dairy Phish Food, Ben & Jerry’s invites fans to take part in a one-of-a-kind interactive contest. Phish fans will be able to win a chance to see a Phish show, original art from Jim Pollock, a year’s supply of ice cream, and even score $2000 cash in their pocket to make it to the gig any way they choose. Enter by February 28th for your chance to win a Phish Food Non-Dairy Prize Pack or one of the above prizes.
Here’s how to enter: Download the Jim Pollock line art and create your own art piece inspired by it, exploring the theme “cows on vacation” in celebration of new Phish Food Non-Dairy. Let your artistic spirit run like an antelope, out of control! We’re looking for creativity, originality, and a clear connection to Jim’s design and the “cows on vacation” theme.
Share your design as a still image to Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #StrangeDesignContest before midnight ET on February 28, 2021. Then fill out the form, including a link to the post where you shared your art piece. We’ll announce the winner on March 18th, 2021!
The contest kicks off at 12:01am on Wednesday, January 26. Official Rules can be referenced here.
Evan McPhaden, bassist of Aqueous, spent 2020 staying productive amid limited live performances. He started early out in quarantine working on a solo side-project, Fluffy Fingers, and it’s one of the best albums you’ll hear in this nascent 2021.
If you’re looking for an album of soothing tracks that fit neatly into a Lo-fi beats playlist, Fluffy Fingers is for you. Six tracks of instrumental goodness are found in the vein of Poolside and a consistent groove that does not slack on any given track.
Compared to energetic Aqueous performances, McPhaden contrasts his typical comfort zone, bringing mellow yet engaging sounds to the listen for just under a half-hour. Evan invited fellow Aqueous bandmate Mike Gantzer to play on “Summer Pool 104” as well as Turkuaz‘ Craig Brodhead to join in on “Chai,” making this collaborative effort even deeper despite the distance between them.
McPhaden spoke to NYS Music about the album and revealed The Office connection to the project name.
Pete Mason: When did you start on the EP? Was this a project in works prior to pandemic or something that generated from the shutdown?
Evan McPhaden: I started working on this project about a month or two into the shutdown. I’ve always wanted to release my own personal music and it felt like it was a “now or never” moment. There’re so many memes about working on an EP and never putting it out, I had to do it. The shutdown was a unique time for everyone so it was nice to fill that time making music.
PM: What artists influence the style found on the album? I hear some Poolhouse and Tycho influence.
EM: That’s funny you mention Poolside because that was definitely an early influence on this project. The first song I wrote for this EP (coincidentally the first on the EP as well), which features Mike, totally has a Poolside influence. I also love Bonobo and was thinking of his vibe through this. Over the pandemic, I binged on instrumentals as well. I can put on the “lo-fi beats” or “jazz vibes” playlists on Spotify and listen to those for hours. So a lot of this EP has that vibe of influence over it.
PM: Where did the name Fluffy Fingers come from?
EM: Originally, I was thinking I would use something from Buffalo. I had the name “hoyt” because I live right next to Hoyt Lake. But it wasn’t sticking and I began to think about other things I love. I’m a huge fan of “The Office” and watch it way too much. I thought if I could find something from the show I’d love that. Micheal Scott goes to Darryl for some advice for what to do if someone disses you. Darryl uses the term fluffy fingers which he says “That’s when someone really gets in your face, you know you just, start ticklin’ ’em.” Part of putting out this music and creating it was to have fun with it, not over think it and just enjoy creating it. I thought the name and reference just reflected that and it felt right.
Dix Hills, Long Island native, Brandon ‘Taz’ Niederauer, took to the national stage on Sunday, January 24, performing the “Star-Spangled Banner” ahead of the AFC Championship game in Kansas City, Missouri.
The 17-year old guitar phenom was invited to play before the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs duked it out on the field, for the chance to go to the Super Bowl.
Taz took the moment to do what he does best – shred guitar. Jaws dropped as Taz took all of 102 seconds to perform the Francis Scott Key tune. Taz set the bar high for Eric Church and Jazmine Sullivan, who will perform the “Star-Spangled Banner” together at Super Bowl LV in Tampa Bay, FL on Sunday, February 7.
Brandon still walks the halls of his Long Island high school, East Half Hollow Hills, which congratulated Taz on Facebook for his trip to the national stage. In 2015, Brandon notably starred on Broadway in Andrew Lloyd Weber’s musical “School of Rock.”
photo by Brian Cole
Acquiring the nickname “Taz” from a music teacher who said that Brandon’s fast guitar playing reminded him of the Tasmanian Devil from Looney Tunes cartoons, Brandon has also appeared many times on television, include “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “Good Morning America,” and “The View.”
Brandon cites his father’s record collection as a major influence on his playing, particularly albums by Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, the Allman Brothers Band, Eric Clapton, and many more.
Taz has also performed the National Anthem at Cubs games at Wrigley Field as recently as 2019.
Palindromic jam scene veterans Dopapod noted the dual significance of January 20, 2021 with a video for a ‘new’ song, “Four Years Ended.” The video was timed for 1/20/21 to honor the palindrome date, as well as the Inauguration of President Biden.
Dopapod has used palindromes (words spelled the same backward and forwards) as titles of albums –Emit Time, Redivider, Radar, Megagem, among others, as well as the date for album releases, not to mention the band’s name.
“Four Years Ended” is a reworking of the 2008 Dopapod track “Eight Years Ended,” the latter of which was inspired by the end of the Bush administration. This shorter, faster version of “Eight Years Ended” was crafted for the end of the Trump administration, which only lasted four years and ended on January 20, 2021.
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, Allyson Smith, Monica Uhm 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, EQXposure features the music of Allyson Smith, spanning her releases. Featured tracks include “Wane” and “Bound2Be” off her release All Good Things, “Vacancy” off the release Carter Creek Choir, and her latest, “The Waves (demo).”
Also featured is the new release from Monica Uhm titled “Prelude.” Monica is a singer-songwriter based in New York known for her catchy tunes, intelligent lyrics and quirky live banter. Her lyrical style is self-dubbed “philoso-folk” given the push-pull in her writing of the big questions in life found in small everyday snapshots. Her musical style is self-dubbed “kitchen-sink twist on Americana” from the eclectic range of influences in her musical tastes and working with a wide spectrum of accomplished and creative musicians and artists.
For the next installment of Phish’s Dinner and a Movie archival stream series, the band goes back to the ‘2.0’ era, revisiting a Phish Summer Tour stop on July 25, 2003 in Charlotte, NC. The next installment airs on Tuesday, January 26 at 8pm
via GolgiProject.com
Previously released on Live Phish, the Charlotte show found the band in the middle of their 2003 Summer Tour that started in California and headed to the northernmost reaches of Maine for their IT Festival. Part of a three-night southern run that included Atlanta, GA and Raleigh, NC, the Charlotte show featured a wide ranging setlist, covering the band’s then-nearly 20 year career. A few monster jams are found in the show, including an 18-minute “Bathtub Gin” and a nearly half-hour long “Harry Hood.”
Fan Poster from Summer 2003
For the dinner portion of the night, the band intends to keep things easy and hearty with Betty Frost’s recipe for Chicken Pot Pies, including a veggie option. The full recipe can be found here.
Meals On Wheels will be beneficiary for the webcast, with all donations made via The WaterWheel Foundation will be given to support vulnerable seniors who are at the greatest risk amid COVID-19. Local Meals on Wheels programs are on the front lines every day, focused on keeping older Americans safe and nourished in communities across the country.
