The highly anticipated upcoming remake of West Side Story gives a glimpse in its trailer of the classic musical with a brand new cast. The trailer aired during the 2021 Academy Awards telecast on Sunday, April 25.
After sixty years, the love story of Tony and Maria returns to theaters. The clip is a minute-and-a-half long, giving a quick look at the beloved romantic musical drama.
The trailer begins with a New York City morning, the dawn sky and quickly shifting vignettes of the city. The town, divided in its gangs, ramps up into action with a beautiful orchestral drone in the background.
The Jets and the Sharks, the indelible rivaling gangs, collide in small action sequences. Within the tumultuous community, the two star-crossed lovers find each other, their tragic love story illuminating the screen.
20th Century Studios / Youtube
The leads in Spielberg’s production are Rachel Zegler as Maria and Ansel Elgort ofThe Fault in Our Stars as Tony. The film also features talented actors such as David Alvarez as Bernardo, Ana Isabelle as Rosalía, and Mike Faist as Riff.
The film, as well as the original, was heavily based off of Romeo and Juliet, written by Arthur Laurents in 1957 as a Broadway musical. An interesting fact about the 2021 remake is that Rita Moreno, who played Anita in the original 1961 movie, returns as a shop owner named Valentina, who employs Tony.
West Side Story, directed by Steven Spielberg, is set to hit theaters in December 2021.
Episode 117 of the Rochester Groovecast Podcast highlights the new single from Zahyia, “Why Love.”
Zahyia Rolle’s out of Rochester, NY, has a new solo project, ‘Zahyia‘. She is “an eclectic blend of everything. Musically reflecting the light and stories of all.” Episode 117 of The Rochester Groovecast podcast is an intimate chat and “Why Love” listening party.
Listen To The Podcast:
Watch The Episode:
At Rochester Groovecast, the mantra “We’re Fans First!” harnesses the belief that the best businesses are built by fans. The podcast is deeply dedicated to playing an active role in the culture of its local scene.
The brainchild of Rochester native, Ben Albert, was created in 2016 to serve as a portfolio of the city, and nowadays, the entire region.
The podcast 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. He has seen first hand the abundance of talent, character, creativity, innovation, and beauty the Flower City has continuously offered.
By 1971, The Grateful Dead had firmly established the Fillmore East as their New York City base of operations. But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. The Fillmore East would be shuttered by the end of the summer, but not before one last run of Dead shows, which began 50 years ago today. The five-night run would serve as the band’s last hurrah at Bill Graham’s legendary East Village venue. It’s also the source of material for one of their essential live albums, Ladies and Gentlemen….The Grateful Dead. Tonight’s show features some iconic Dead tunes that were still in the early roll out stages combined with some short-lived classics.
The band wastes no time and dives right into a roaring “Truckin’” to open the show. It’s a crisp, early version of this Dead classic to-be that was barely a year old at the time. It would also serve as the opener for three other shows during this Fillmore run. After requesting some “cranking up” of the monitors, Jerry Garcia then leads the group through “Loser,” carrying over the alt-country psychedelic vibes established earlier by the New Riders. A short, but hauntingly beautiful guitar solo from Garcia highlights this one. The collective mood then gets lifted in a major way with “Hard To Handle.” The charismatic Pigpen, who has several shining moments this evening, takes the lead on vocals in his signature, blues-riddled style. Garcia and drummer Bill Kreutzmann seem to take turn raising the fervor and intensity which yields a hearty early jam.
After a vintage extended tuning session, the show resumes with “Me And Bobby McGee,” this time with Bob Weir leading the way on vocals for a cover song. Afterwards, Weir shouts out some more friendly advice to the monitor guy before “Cold Rain And Snow” lifts off. Garcia’s aggressive guitar tone and thunderous bass notes from Phil Lesh give this always emotional number a little something extra tonight. This sets the stage for Pigpen to take charge once more, this time with harmonica in tow for “The Rub.” This Lightnin’ Hopkins cover, also known as “Ain’t It Crazy,” would only be played 13 times by the Dead, properly shelved for good after Pigpen’s passing.
Weir then gets back on the mic for “Playin’ In The Band,” another soon-to-be Dead classic that was debuted only months earlier at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, NY. It’s essentially just a run through of the composed portion, with no jam to speak of with the song still in its nascent stage. Garcia then notes that “we used to do this song acoustically” before an uptempo rendition of “Friend Of The Devil” takes place.
The first set then wraps up with a few already established staples of the Grateful Dead’s live catalog. The instrumental segue between “China Cat Sunflower” and “I Know You Rider” is near-seamless, with Garcia delivering a flurry of emotional guitar fills on the latter. “Casey Jones” then drives the Fillmore crowd off to intermission, capping off a whirlwind first set. Garcia and Weir both take it upon themselves to advise everyone they’ll return shortly.
The Dead kick off the second set at the Fillmore in grand fashion with a supercharged “Morning Dew.” Steadily progressive rhythms supplied by Lesh and Kreutzmann secure the framework for another Garcia guitar solo that drips with emotion, much to the crowd’s delight. After a quick run through “Beat It On Down The Line,” it’s Pigpen’s turn again as he and his harp rip through a cover of the bluesy “Next Time You See Me.”
Pig then gets back behind the organ for “Bertha,” another fresh tune at the time, debuted only months ago. Afterwards Garcia seems to make note of Mickey Hart, who had recently begun his hiatus from the band, “not being with us tonight” but that his grandmother was in attendance. This clears the deck for “Sugar Magnolia.” Garcia has the wah effect on full blast for this one, almost overpowering everything else. After some more griping about the in-house monitors, the Dead’s cover of Smokey Robinson and The Miracles’ “Second That Emotion” smooths everything over. It would the fourth performance of this song that the band only ever played five times – all in April of 1971.
But this would not be the cover selection that blows the doors off the second set. That honor belongs to the “Good Lovin’” that follows, sung in Pigpen’s signature style and immediately supplemented with a majestic drum solo from Kreutzmann. As the wave of “Drums” begins to recede, a loose form of “Good Lovin’” reemerges, spurred on by Pigpen and his improvisational crooning. With the rest of the band fully locked in behind him, this sequence sees the Dead at their full powers and steals the show.
Things would slow down considerably after this, with “Sing Me Back Home,” another Dead tune with a short shelf life. Although it would be played the following two nights as well. One of the last inter-song tuning sessions is memorable as this one has a distinct “Spanish Jam” element to it. Finally, the opening shuffle beat of “Not Fade Away” takes shape, initiating the final sequence of the evening. In following tradition, another silky smooth transition follows into “Goin’ Down The Road Feeling Bad” before turning back into NFA. The Grateful Dead then treat the ravenous crowd to an “Uncle John’s Band” encore, wrapping up the first night of this last ever run at the Fillmore East.
Grateful Dead – Fillmore East – New York, NY 4/25/71
Set 1: Truckin’, Loser, Hard To Handle, Me And Bobby McGee, Cold Rain & Snow, The Rub, Playin’ In The Band, Friend Of The Devil, China Cat Sunflower-> I Know You Rider, Casey Jones
Set 2: Morning Dew, Beat It On Down The Line, Next Time You See Me, Bertha, Sugar Magnolia, Second That Emotion, Good Lovin’-> Drums-> Good Lovin’, Sing Me Back Home, Not Fade Away-> Goin’ Down The Road Feelin’ Bad-> Not Fade Away
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 The Bitter Stars, Modern Fools 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 The Bitter Stars, from Charlton in Saratoga County. Their release Winters is a side project of the band doOojj, featuring Clarke Hingeford and Kyle Pemrick. The music is very clever, a unique take on what pop rock music can and perhaps should be. Excellent guitar tones, with powerful sonic treatments that rip across the aural spectrum providing a very cool repetitious base for the songs to be built on.
Greg Farley is a modern day renaissance man who also happens to write beautiful songs. While the phrase Alt-Country might be a little inappropriate to describe the music, these roots based songs are personal, suggestive, and enriching. The first cut off the record, “Hoosick Falls” has a hopeful sense while being deliberately truthful. The back up band on the session provides a subtle power to the tune that further leaves an impression on the listener, beckoning another spin or two.
Modern Fools from New Hampshire have some very cool music coming out of lockdown recording sessions. The forthcoming release of their work, Seer, is harmonically rich and steeped with heavy emotional content, aided by truly excellent performance of the songs by the band. While the lyrics and melody are haunting they soar right into the ear and stay awhile.
Episode 116 of the Rochester Groovecast Podcast is a re-stream of Rochester Groovecast founder, Ben Albert, featured on the Afternoon Cocktail Talk show, hosted by Amanda Ashley.
Afternoon Cocktail Talk Show is a wellness-based show featuring live performances and candid interviews with National and International Singer-songwriters, entrepreneurs, and various noteworthy causes. Through a collection of perspectives, Afternoon Cocktail delivers inspirational, educational, and thought-provoking entertainment that encourages awareness, self-care, kindness, and mental wellness.
In episode 56 of Afternoon Cocktail, “Facing The Music,” Afternoon Cocktail host, Amanda Ashley interviews Courtney Whitehead of Bison Bone, and Ben Albert of Rochester Groovecast.
Bison Bone is an Americana Rock and Roll band from Denver, CO. The band is a little bit country, a little bit rock & roll, and fully led by the boisterous singer/songwriter Courtney Whitehead. The veneer of their “Americana Rock & Roll band” description doesn’t seem to phase the group, as is apparent in their newest album, Find Your Way Out. Whitehead has unabashedly embraced the spirit of the aforementioned term, almost to the point of mockery.
The Denver-based band seems fully aware of the connotations surrounding surface level labels and uses it to their advantage by tricking listeners into thinking they are listening to something they are not. It would be easy to think Bison Bone is just another simplistic Americana band, but this is not the case. – Bandwagon Mag 2020
Timestamp:
00:00: Rochester Groovecast Episode Intro
02:32: Afternoon Cocktail Episode Intro
04:00: Amanda’s conversation with Bison Bone and Bison Bone Live Performance
29:09: Amanda’s conversation with Ben Albert of Rochester Groovecast
48:09: One more live track by Bison Bone
51:41: Episode Conclusion
At Rochester Groovecast, the mantra “We’re Fans First!” harnesses the belief that the best businesses are built by fans. The podcast is deeply dedicated to playing an active role in the culture of its local scene.
The brainchild of Rochester native, Ben Albert, was created in 2016 to serve as a portfolio of the city, and nowadays, the entire region.
The podcast believes in the artistic brilliance abundant in Rochester and the surrounding regions. Ben seeks to play a pivotal role in our community by helping give Rochester a well-earned voice. He has seen first hand the abundance of talent, character, creativity, innovation, and beauty the Flower City has continuously offered.
ShwizZ has spent recent months exploring new musical territory, releasing the nine minute music video for “Clock Tower.” A dark and brooding piece that captures feelings of reflection, the song is inspired by a simple chord progression on guitar and transformed into a winding musical journey.
This tune started off as a simple little riff this past fall for guitarist Ryan Liatsis, and developed from there.
I was noodling on in my bedroom for a couple weeks. It was around the time Eddie Van Halen had died, so I was experimenting with tapping harmonics on the guitar, but not the shredding kind of way he did of course. I wanted to hear the notes ring like little chimes. So after I had flushed it out, I presented the riff to the group at a practice and naturally the creative juices started flowing. The song started to take shape with this brooding and cinematic texture, so we went for it. It was amazing to really develop something more melodic and emotional then a lot of our other material. Many know we like to shred and ain’t afraid to show it!
Ryan Liatsis, ShwizZ
At first the song was called “Harmonix,” until someone mentioned they visualized a clock tower while listening to the track and the band agreed. The wild adventure of riffs and rock included the use of fretless instruments for some extra mood.
The song took shape with the addition of Scott Hogan’s melodic bass lines, and Will Burgaleta’s tasteful and elegant piano playing, and Andy Boxer adding his unique flavor of drums to tie it all together, notes Liatsis. Initial tracking was done in January 2021 at Call Hollow Studios in Pomona, NY. After overdubs, the band produced, recorded and mixed it all over a couple sessions, then sent if for mastering at Csharp Studio’s overseas in Romania.
Making the video for the song followed, with the band realizing quickly they had to record a video for a nine minute long prog rock instrumental song.
It didn’t seem realistic, but we put together somewhat of a plan and found an amazing venue called Gymnopedie in Brooklyn. It was quite a place, nestled in the basement of a gigantic church in Bushwick. The place was gnarly though as you can see from some of the rooms we filmed in. Our good friend Dan Rappaport lead the video production with the help of Natasha DiMarco.
While we were there, we made use of a little tiny stairwell full of clocks. Someone had blurted out “Clock Tower” as a song name, that’s right we had yet to properly name the song! Until then we were just calling it “Harmonix”, which was way to obviously about the intro guitar part and that’s it. So after some contemplating we agreed to call it “Clock Tower” and it sure did paint that picture.
A dark, ominous, mysterious old clock tower in the mist, curiously observing and wondering what’s inside, what’s been inside, what has the place seen throughout history. Our long time friend Paul Holland’s actually brought this imagery to life by taking an incredible picture of an old clock tower in Nyack, NY. After some light touching up by him and Dan Rappaport we had our Clock Tower cover art.
Ryan Liatsis, ShwizZ
Released by Color Red in Denver, “Clock Tower” marks the first time the four members of ShwizZ wrote a piece from the ground up. Liatsis reflects on the ‘you never know what you’re gonna get’ aspect of songwriting.
Sometimes you set out to paint with a vision in mind, knowing exactly what will be on the canvas when you’re done. Other times you just splatter a bunch of paint on the wall and see what happens, then make sense of it afterwards. And many times it is somewhere in the gray area betwixt those extremes. It is of the utmost importance to remind yourself there’s no right or wrong way to the process.
37 years ago today, The Grateful Dead played their one and only show in Niagara Falls, NY. The band was certainly familiar with the state by this time in their touring career, but had never managed to play this section of Western New York before. In traditional fashion, the Dead started the year off with some shows in California and out west before heading east for spring tour. After a show in Rochester the night before, this would be the fourth show of the East Coast run, following two at Hampton Coliseum.
The Dead do a little extended tuning to rev up the Niagara Falls crowd even further to start and then its off to the races with “Jack Straw.” This one comes out of the gates clean, with Bob Weir leading the way on vocals. It’s later highlighted by a sparkling run on guitar by Jerry Garcia that takes this opener to another level. Garcia then uses “Dire Wolf” as another chance to drop down a pristine solo before the opening licks of “New Minglewood Blues” emerge next. This time, its keyboardist’s Brent Mydland’s time to show off thanks to a rousing organ solo delivered midway through. The traditional first set number builds up in intensity a little before coming to a close thanks to some more Garcia runs that follow and Weir using a pedal steel-like effect on guitar in the brief jam that ensues.
“Row Jimmy” then slows things down a tad, with Garcia noticeably stumbling early over some of the lyrics. It’s a fairly tame version that still seems like it’s trying to figure itself out. Afterwards, Weir “shadowboxes the Apocalypse” a little in the short-lived “My Brother Esau.” The first set excitement seems to return with “Ramble On Rose” that features a wicked feedback sound at the outset. Garcia has no issue with the lyrics this time and is complemented perfectly by Mydland with a harpsichord-like sound on keys throughout. This classic Dead number gets a loud roar of approval from the Niagara Falls crowd when all is said and done. The fairly short opening set then ends with “Looks Like Rain” > “Deal” with each allotting some time for a few more powerful Garcia-driven guitar solos.
A very raspy Bob Weir and some fun audio effects begin the second set with everyone’s favorite crowd management game, “Take A Step Back.” With this out of the way, the set then takes off with a sped-up and high octane “Help On The Way” that feels like its shot out of a cannon. Although it may be quick, it begets a powerfully cohesive and psychedelic jam that patiently explores and develops for a while. So much so, in fact, that it seems to completely bypass the beginning and go right to the end of “Slipknot!” After a quick run through the main riff, the Dead quickly shift gears once again and use “Franklin’s Tower” to complete the traditional pairing that starts this second set with a bang.
After giving the crowd a chance to catch their breath, the Dead are off and running again with “Man Smart, Women Smarter.” This seems to pick up right where the “Frankin’s” jam left off, with another rapid-fire, cohesive effort that sees Garcia leading the way once again. The drummer tag-team of Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart provide the needed rhythmic support on an infectiously bouncy take on this number.
The drum-heavy outro jam then suddenly yields to Garcia and the opening chords of “Eyes Of The World” begin to be heard, cementing an already impressive second set. Despite some ethereal tones from Mydland on keys, this “Eyes” starts fast and only gets faster as Garcia annihilates one guitar run after another, seemingly getting more powerful as the song progresses.
In a complete contrast, the band seems to be extra patient and exploratory in the “Space” portion of the evening that follows “Drums.” The Dead take their sweet time noodling around, with Garcia running up and down scales in a variety of tones and effects. As a discernable drum beat emerges from the madness, so too does “Black Peter.” Some noticeable “spacey” effects appear to seep into this one, giving this “Peter” a real jazzy, psychedelic vibe that meshes perfectly with the blues emanating from Garcia.
To close out tonight’s show at the Niagara Falls Convention Center, the Grateful Dead would mix in a few newer numbers, starting with the Weird-led “Throwing Stones.” A couple of dazzling keyboard fills from Mydland on piano highlight this one which was only premiered a few years prior. At its conclusion, Garcia immediately starts the introductory chords to Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away,” a second set Grateful Dead staple. As is tradition by now, some say beginning with the show in Binghamton last year, this keeps this crowd singing and clapping along throughout the encore break. “Touch Of Grey,” another newer song, played rather quickly and unfortunately a little sloppily, then closes out the Dead’s only show in Niagara Falls.
Grateful Dead Niagara Falls Convention Center – Niagara Falls, NY 4/17/84
Set 1: Jack Straw, Dire Wolf, New Minglewood Blues, Row Jimmy, My Brother Esau, Ramble On Rose, Looks Like Rain-> Deal
Set 2: Help On The Way-> Slipknot!-> Franklin’s Tower-> Women Are Smarter-> Eyes Of The World-> Drums-> ->Space->Black Peter-> Throwing Stones-> Not Fade Away
Today marks the anniversary of the final show The Grateful Dead ever played in Binghamton, NY. The final three of these all took place at Broome County Arena, with the first show being at Harpur College in 1970. Shows at the Arena then followed in 1977 and 1979. After a short run of shows on the West Coast to open 1983, the Dead traveled east for their spring tour. With keyboardist Brent Mydland now comfortably established in the band’s dynamic for a few years now, this show offers a glimpse of vintage of early ’80s Dead and a taste of all their varied sounds and styles to date.
The show starts off in a somewhat disjointed fashion with Jerry Garcia mumbling a good portion of the lyrics to “Alabama Getaway.” Harmonizing vocals and the customary wailing Hammond B3 organ fills from Brent Mydland help to mitigate the early shortcomings. After a fairly tame Garcia solo, the band quickly shifts into “Greatest Story Ever Told.” Bob Weir leads the vocals on this quick one that features a much improved Garcia solo at the end. Jerry continues his first set ascent with the “Bird Song” that follows, nimbly maneuvering through the lyrics and delivering some ethereal guitar work. Mydland on electric keys now and Weir on rhythm guitar create a wonderful canvas of sound upon which Garcia paints effortlessly.
“New Minglewood Blues” is next on the docket with Weir once again taking lead and Garcia and Mydland each exchanging boisterous solos on this one as each song so far seems to get progressively more cohesive. This carries on right into a must-hear “Peggy-O” that features a truly heavenly tone from Mydland on keys that accompanies Garcia on vocals.
The emotions remain high and flow nicely into the “Cassidy” that comes next, with Mydland continuing to dazzle with an array of different tones emanating from his keyboard rig. This yields another short but ferocious Grateful Dead jam that the Binghamton fans applaud appropriately on this recording.
“Loser” brings the first set heat back down to a simmer before another few Garcia solos rile up Broome County Arena once more. Things continue to pick up with the cover of The Rolling Stones’ “It’s All Over Now” that follows and features more spectacular work from Mydland on the Hammond. Afterwards, the Dead throw it back a little with “Dupree’s Diamond Blues,” a recently revived classic that dates back to the late ’60s. A rousing “Let It Grow,” heavily fueled by the percussive tandem of Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart, then ends the first set that seems to celebrate almost ever era of the band’s musical catalog to date.
The Grateful Dead‘s final set in Binghamton starts off in traditional fashion with a “Help On The Way” that unfortunately sees Jerry revert back to some fumbled lyrics. Its traditional tag-team partner “Slipknot!” gives Garcia a chance for redemption as he delivers a mesmerizing guitar solo atop another full bed of sound with constant accentuating flares thrown about by Mydland and Weir. A jazz-like jam evolves from this for a bit in a “Slipknot!” that gets stretched out nicely before rounding back into form. The abrupt segue into “Franklin’s Tower” then rounds out the second set’s triumphant opening trifecta. Garcia has no issues with the vocals here and throws in a few exuberant, rapid-fire guitar runs for good measure that surely enthralls the Broome County crowd.
A second set “breather” of sorts then ensues with another traditional Dead sequence. Bob Weir takes lead on “Lost Sailor,” a song the Dead would only continue to play for a few more years after this. Another abrupt segue then serves as the lead-in to “Saint Of Circumstance,” completing the longtime song pairing that had been a regular part of the band’s live repertoire since 1979. This paves the way nicely for “Terrapin Station” as the Grateful Dead delight Binghamton with yet another classic.
The song’s drum-heavy ending, as it had and would continue to do many times going forward, serves as a natural entrance ramp to the evening’s “Drums” > “Space” sequence. To little surprise, after the band reemerges on stage, so too does “The Other One.” At several points moments earlier, drummers Kreutzmann and Hart seemed to be fashioning a similar-sounding drumbeat to the iconic one that begins this song.
In vintage Dead fashion, the intensity of “The Other One” is juxtaposed nicely by the fairly mellow, in comparison, “Wharf Rat” that follows. This gives Garcia one last chance to deliver a couple of choice solos with a nice, jazzy backdrop of sound provided by the rest of the group. As “Rat” dwindles out, the opening chords of “Not Fade Away” start up as the Dead begin to close their final Binghamton gig. At its conclusion, the crowd shows its appreciation and continues singing “Not Fade Away’ all the way through the encore break, something that would become commonplace for this song throughout the rest of the band’s career.
As a result, the encore begins with the Dead reciprocating and playing an NFA-reprise in response back to the crowd. Fittingly, the show then ends with a cover of Bob Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.” With a setlist featuring two songs with the words “It’s All Over Now” in it, it’s almost as if the Dead knew this is the las time they would ever grace the Parlor City.
Grateful Dead – Broome County Arena – Binghamton, NY 4/12/83
Set 1: Alabama Getaway-> Greatest Story Ever Told, Bird Song, New Minglewood Blues, Peggy-O, Cassidy, Loser, It’s All Over Now, Dupree’s Diamond Blues, Let It Grow
Set 2: Help On The Way-> Slipknot!-> Franklin’s Tower-> Lost Sailor-> Saint Of Circumstance-> Terrapin Station-> Drums-> The Other One-> Wharf Rat-> Not Fade Away
Promising Young Woman actress Carey Mulligan hosted this week’s Saturday Night Live, with rapper Kid Cudi joining her as musical guest. Cudi released his most recent album, Man on the Moon III: The Chosen in December of 2020, concluding the trilogy he began in 2009.
Mulligan’s husband Marcus Mumford appeared during her opening monologue, offering to be the night’s musical guest. After Mulligan informed Mumford that Kid Cudi was performing already, he pulled an acoustic guitar out of thin air and accompanied her closing remarks. Of course, Mumford is the front-man of folk rock band Mumford & Sons, who previously played SNL in 2012, 2015 and 2018.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-BfpGLs0Cs
Before his performances, Kid Cudi first appeared in a sketch with Pete Davidson and Chris Redd, “Weird Little Flute.” It parodied flute rap, a burgeoning subgenre including songs like Future’s “Mask Off.” Previous SNL host Timothee Chalamet made an unexpected cameo, endorsing the weird little flute as a musical asset.
Kid Cudi chose “Tequila Shots” as his first song of the night, with lyrics about alcohol-induced anxiety and depression: “It seems I’ll never learn / I won’t stop ‘til I crash and burn / Tell my mom I’m sorry.” He wore a t-shirt depicting late SNL cast member Chris Farley, who famously struggled with addiction.
Cudi closed out the episode with “Sad People,” a toast to contemplative night owls. Following in the footsteps of Kurt Cobain, he wore a floral dress. Cobain died by suicide this week in 1994, and Cudi has been open about his own experiences with suicidal ideation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsagiYnmN_4
As for Kid Cudi’s 2021 plans, an album is likely on the horizon for his supergroup, The Scotts. Made up of Cudi (whose first name is Scott) and Travis Scott, The Scotts formed in 2020 and debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 with single “The Scotts.”
The episode ended with an in memoriam tribute to rapper DMX, who played SNL in 2000.
Bandits on the Run, hailing from New York City, premiere their brand new music video today for their song “Hurricane” on NYS Music.
A powerhouse trio, Bandits on the Run was formed in New York City. Adrian Blake Enscoe serves as both guitarist and percussion section, using a suitcase drum and foot tambourine. Sydney Shepherd is the cellist and writes string arrangements. Regina Strayhorn is the accordionist, melodica player, glockenspieler, and plays a mean shakey banana.
They have appeared at the ASCAP Cafe Stage at Sundance, shared the bill with artists like Aaron Lee Tasjan, Rain Phoenix, and Matt Berninger of The National. They’d been selected for SXSW 2020 and built a tour that included an appearance at The Kennedy Center and an opening slot for Larkin Poe at NYC’s famed Webster Hall, before the pandemic struck down the best-laid plans of every mouse and man ‘round the globe.
“Hurricane” is one of the singles off of their upcoming EP Now Is The Time which is dropping on May 21, 2021. This video has a much more conceptual approach than their other videos which is something the band was attempting to do. The video not only highlights the group’s musical ability but their artistic vision. Between the overlaid colors, fluid dance moves, harmonies, and the swoopy white dress, the video definitely gives off some early Florence + the Machine vibes.
For the video the band enlistment of choreographer and director Lane Halperin who helped create a clear and powerful and compelling story that resonates with the song’s message and meaning. The video also used images from filmmaker and visual artist Ian McClerin that were projected on the wall, their faces, and on the big white dress. They used these images in tandem with the dance and movement to enhance the dreamlike and subconscious atmosphere of the story.
The music video was produced by Bandits on the Run who also served as the production company. It was filmed, colored, and edited by Bart Cortright. It featured Lane Halperin and Landes Dixon as dancers. Grace Pendelton was the camera assistant and Chris Weihert the First Assistant director. The band also gives special thanks to Luke Slattery, Sophia Schrank, Rebecca Handler & Ruby Bird Studios for their help with the video.
For more information on Bandits on the Run visit their website.
