Category: Features

Flashback: Bad Religion Frontman Greg Graffin Plays 3 Shows at Rockwood Music Hall
Greg Graffin is most recognized as the lead vocalist and songwriter for the punk rock band Bad Religion, which he co founded in 1979. Graffin has also earned a PhD from Cornell and teaches natural science courses at UCLA. He has written several books on the topics of evolution and religion.  In 2017, he released his third solo album, Millport.

In support of the album he played 3 sold out shows at Rockwood Music Hall in the Lower East Side of Manhattan on February 27th, 28th and March 1st in 2017. The album was released on March 10th of the same year.

Ken Rockwood opened the venue in 2005. It is a very small and intimate venue that has 3 stages, a bar and a record label of the same name. Usually Graffin plays on bigger stages with his main band Bad Religion, so to see him perform these new songs up close and personal was a real treat for me. I have been a huge fan for over 20 years.

The small stage was packed with instruments you would not see at a BR show such as a banjo, fiddle and a madalin. The band featured Guitarist Tommy Andrews, Drummer Jamie Miller and David Bragger who played multiple instruments.

The first song they performed was “Backroads of my Mind” which happened to be one of the first singles off the album. After the song, Greg noted that these were the first shows he has ever played guitar in front of a group of people while standing up. You can tell he wasn’t lying because he was using an actual shoelace as a guitar strap which was somehow perfect for matching the Country Rock/Folk genre.

The band then went into several more songs off the album including “Too Many Virtues”, “Time of Need” and the electric guitar driver “Lincoln’s Funeral Train”. One of the highlights of the night was the harmony filled Bluegrass track “Echo on the Hill”. The song was a great showcase of the band’s skills, particularly Bragger’s mandolin playing.

Before the last song, Greg Graffin jokes “for everyone who waited all night for a Bad Religion song” as they went into an rearranged version of “Sorrow” from BR’s 2002 Process of Belief album. The new version sounded awesome in the tiny room as the whole crowd sang along. It was really a great moment for any Bad Religion fan. It was a perfect night and the audience really felt connected with the band. I enjoyed it so much that I went back the following night which was just as amazing. After the shows Greg even stuck around to take pictures and sign autographs for the fans. It was a truly magnificent experience.
February 27, 2021
Architrave, AliT and more are Featured on this week’s EQXposure

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 Architrave, AliT, 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.

Kicking off the night is Architrave with their cover of True Widow’s “O.O.T.P.V.” A dark and cool jam, the track is brooding with a huge, electrifying sound. After discussion with members of True Widow, Architrave agreed all proceeds from the sale of the track would be donated to Feed the People Dallas Mutual Aid.

WEQX will also be matching that donation with a donation to something more local to us, the Free Food Fridge of Albany, a cool project that sets up fridges stocked with food staples, to help tackle food insecurity in the area.
<a href="https://architrave.bandcamp.com/track/o-o-t-p-v">O.O.T.P.V. by Architrave</a>
Next up is AliT with “Sitting Pretty,” featuring a bright pop sound, drum machines, a huge boundless voice, and an all-heart sensibility. AliT is a true singer-songwriter and instrumentalist making pop music with a touch of grit, soul, and emo harmony. Tune in for AliT’s weekly set live on her Facebook page every Friday at 7:30 pm.
<a href="https://sheisalit.bandcamp.com/album/the-makeover">The Makeover by AliT</a>
In the vein of Lana Del Ray comes Annie Scherer, a modern pop cinematic journey with images of longing and desire. Open minded listeners will hear the voice of a songwriter opening up her soul, crawling up the walls to find a new plane of existence. “Take Me Places” is a cool tune that transcends the idiom and is treated delicately with plenty of space for the listener to attach their own images to and yet want to listen again to bring those feelings back.

February 27, 2021
Kyle Tuttle Releases High-Energy Live EP ‘Kyle Tuttle Live in 2020’

Today, Kyle Tuttle releases his live EP, Kyle Tuttle Live in 2020, almost a year to date when the album was recorded.

The album features songs recorded live two different nights, at The Mill & Mine in Knoxville, TN on February 26, 2020 and The Hunt House in Atlanta, Georgia on February 28 2020, opening for Railroad Earth.

At the time of recording, no one knew what the next year would bring. It was Kyle Tuttle Band’s (KTB) first tour of the year, and subsequently also the last before COVID-19 hit.

The live EP starts with “Mystery Train,” an exhilarating track that exemplifies Kyle Tuttle’s rock and bluegrass influences and first released as a single on February 12th. While a cover of a song originally by Junior Parker, Tuttle and his band make it their own. Tuttle on banjo and fiddler Julian Pinelli each take an incredible solo that flows great with the song and matches its energy.

“Birdie Strut” is another great track and more laid back compared to the first song, but still grooves. The band is tight throughout the whole EP, but this track is a prime example of their togetherness and chemistry with one another. Julian Pinelli rips another awesome fiddle solo as well.

Kyle Tuttle is a Berklee College of Music graduate who has toured across New York with a number of bands, including the late Jeff Austin. His band consists of James Kittleman on drums, Julian Pinelli on fiddle, and Ben DeBerry on bass.

Now that this live EP is out, we can look forward to the days when Kyle Tuttle can get back out on stage and wow the crowds as he and his band did in these performances.

Key tracks: Mystery Man, Birdie Strut

February 26, 2021
Watch Quiltro perform “Antilla” at Burlington’s Autochrome

Burlington’s Quiltro has shared the new live video for “Antilla,” filmed at Autochrome, a community studio space in the south end of Burlington. The old industrial building is where some of the world’s first “autochrome” color photographs were produced in the early 1900s.

The band recently released their debut album, an emotional journey that will set you at ease, wake you up, drive you into a groove and leave you looking to replay the debut immediately after. Peaks and valleys are found throughout the nine-track album, fitting perfectly into the ups and downs of the real world.

Quiltro brings together a range of sounds, influences, and emotions through band members Mark Taylor (guitar, keyboard), Mike McKinley (bass) and JD Hoffmann (drums), creating a psychedelic wall of sound that brings to mind Neal Casal’s Circles Around the Sun. Quiltro is quite simply excellent modern psych rock.

While Autochrome was gobbled up by someone looking to lease the entire building, after many years of calling the space home, Quiltro got the boot over the summer. In normal times, they would have had a huge blowout and celebration — live music, collaborative art, and more, but due to COVID-19, they played with no audience and recorded the video.

Eric Segalstad (Sabi Sound, who engineered and co-produced the album) did the recording, Tony Berry (Psychedelic Soup) did the liquid light show, and Matt Bushlow produced the video. Watch “Antilla” below and visit Quiltro on Bandcamp.

February 26, 2021
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard Take a Microtonal Dive on ‘LW’
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard are back with another new album, LW. The band’s 17^th studio album is the follow up to 2020’s KG and also the third installment in their series of microtonal explorations (which also includes 2017’s Flying Microtonal Banana). The record comes right on the heels of the recently released live-studio music video “Pleura,” directed by John Angus Stewart.

King Gizzard intended LW to be a seamless continuation of 2020’s KG as all of the songs were recorded together with the same stylistic and experimental tendencies. The double album is bookended by separate but similarly titled tracks “KGLW.” The first, being the opening track on KG, is a one-and-a-half-minute melody reminiscent of medieval minstrel music while the second version of “KGLW,” the closing track on LW, is a slow burning thrash metal epic. Even the noisy outro of KG closing track “The Hungry Wolf of Fate” extends into the opening minute of LW opener “If Not Now, Then When?” before abruptly switching into a slinky funk jam.

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On LW, King Gizzard continue their dive into “microtonal tunings,” a unique musical style that comes from using instrumentation designed to give distinct tones between those found on western, indexed instruments. Frontman Stu Mackenzie described the effort by saying “we wanted to make new music that was somehow more colorful this time around, and which maybe reflected the many new things that we have learned along the way.” The band relies heavily on the bağlama, a Turkish stringed instrument, to create layers of psychedelic and mystical microtonal passages that transports the listener right to the deserts of the Far East. Mixed with Stu’s unique metal-tinged vocals and garage rock guitar structure, the band delivers a truly innovative experience on LW.

King Gizzard at Central Park Summerstage, 8/28/2019 – Photo by Buscar Photo

However, King Gizzard do not just stick to one sound here. In fact, the band fine tune many of the different stylistic directions from their back catalog in the theme of Eastern microtonal tuning. On both KG and LW there are tracks with a disco/funk rhythm, heavy thrash metal tracks that could fit right on Infest the Rats’ Nest, and prog-folk odysseys. The Melbourne based band have dedicated entire albums to these influences over their career, but on KG and LW they all come together in a whole new way. The result is as if you threw 70s era prog and folk rock, Revolver era Beatles, and early Black Sabbath into the Gizzard song machine.

King Gizzard at Central Park Summerstage, 8/28/2019 – Photo by Buscar Photo

Standout tracks include the lead single “Pleura,” a driving garage rock song with a stringy folk passage in the back half, “Static Electricity” which features layers of swirling woodwinds and acoustic guitar arpeggios, and closing track “KGLW” which is a sprawling 8-minute thrash metal banger with a creepy “K-G-L-W” vocal mantra buried into the mix. You can find both albums to download right on King Gizzard’s own site (HERE) where $1 from every download of LW is being donated to Greenfleet, a charity aimed at replanting biodiverse forests in Australia and New Zealand.

If one thing is certain, given the extra time from not being able to tour, this is only the beginning of another rabid burst of musical output from King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard.
<a href="https://kinggizzard.bandcamp.com/album/l-w">L.W. by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard</a>
Check out more photos from King Gizzard’s headline show at Central Park Summerstage back in August 2019 below.
February 26, 2021
Hearing Aide: Reliably Bad ‘Space Girl’

Eight-piece funk-pop band Reliably Bad is set to release Space Girl, their first full length album, on February 26th.

Based out of Greensboro, North Carolina, Reliably Bad’s sound draws influences from funk, soul, and R&B greats like Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Michael Jackson, and many others. While Reliably Bad pays tribute to these influences, they bring their own unique, modern sound as well.

The album starts off with the title track, “Space Girl.” This first track channels that distinct 70’s funk sound that bands like CHIC made famous. A funky, wah-heavy guitar strumming propels Reliably Bad into the first energetic track of the album. Taking after the name of the track, the chorus exemplifies the spacey feel of the composition. But while it is spacey, the band is super tight rhythmically.

“Phone” is another catchy song that tells a story of miscommunication between two lovers. While all of the songs on the album exemplify lead singer Jessica Schnieder’s vocal capabilities, “Phone” is one track where she really shines. Her smooth vocals carry the laid-back, jazzy vibe of the track.

The album ends with “All The Time,” a track of epic proportions that features a host of additional musicians and is a perfect finale to the album. It is Stevie Wonder-esque, and culminates with a high-energy chorus that opens up, bringing in additional vocalists, horns, and strings.

Space Girl features production and mixing from recent Grammy Nominee Gabe Fox-Peck (Young Bull and Harriet), and was partially mixed by Caleb Parker (Vulfpeck, Scary Pockets, and Pomplamoose).

Key Tracks: Space Girl, Phone, All The Time

February 25, 2021
Emo-Rock Duo Losers Club from Rochester are Back with New Music

Losers Club are making their label-debut on Substream Records with a new single called “Fux W/ Ur Head,” set for release on March 5th, 2021.

The duet’s emo-rock sound is crafted by frontman Nate Blasdell, known for his role as lead guitar and background vocals in the melodic hardcore band I Set My Friends on Fire, and backed by Andy Champion on guitar. Losers Club’s sound is poppier than Blasdell’s previous work, akin to The All-American Rejects. Their music is anthemic and tightly packed with melody.

On their instagram account, Losers Club recounted the past year, saying “This year was a rollercoaster to say the least. What started as four, turned to three, then three became two, and now here we are, stronger than ever with 2020 in the rearview and so much to look forward to in 2021. New sound. New look. New album. New era.”

With their new sound and formation, Losers Club is ready to take on the music world with their label-debut single, Fux W/ Ur Head. You can pre-order it here.

You can find them on Instagram and Facebook and the label’s website.

February 25, 2021
“It Runs in the Blood” Takes Indie Band Council From Farm Life to Stardom

The indie band of brothers, Council, has announced their upcoming EP It Runs In The Blood. On May 28, their third EP of will be released on all platforms.

Council consists of three brothers: Pat, Doug, and Andy Reeves. As the trio grew up just outside Syracuse in Baldwinsville, NY, they’ve committed to trading a life of farming for their true passion; music. From working in the fields during the day to perfecting their craft in their family barn at night.

The debut single off of the new EP, “Faded Purple White Trash Royal”, was recently released. The track is available on major platforms and provides listeners a sneak peek of the anthemic tone expected on It Runs In The Blood.

Listen to Council’s Debut Single Here

Council‘s new EP contains singles, “I See Sparks,” “Still We Rise,” “Faded Purple White Trash Royal,” and the title track, “It Runs In The Blood.” Apart from the title track, the entire EP was written and produced by Council. The track “It Runs In The Blood” was co-produced and co-written by Kevin Andreas. Andreas is known for engineering A$AP Rocky’s hit, “Peso.”

Cover Artwork for EP

Council has begun to build a name for themselves. They have worked with countless household names and appeared on popular programs. The brothers’ band has played shows at mainstays in NYC. Also, they have opened for bands such as The Strumbellas, The All American Rejects, and The Kooks. The musicians have even had their music played throughout the 2018 Winter Olympics, FIFA World Cup, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, and the Premier League, to name a few.

As this band has begun to establish themselves in the music scene with their unique sound, they are definitely a group to watch out for. It Runs In The Blood will undoubtedly only add to Council’s growing success. Although this EP’s release isn’t for a few months, make sure to check out the band’s previous EP, Haunts Me.

February 25, 2021
L’FREAQ Drops Dark Synth-Pop Single “Make Me Move”

L’FREAQ has returned after a two-year absence to share her newest single, “Make Me Move.” Described as having a “sexy, neo-goth, synth pop sound,” the track features an intimate look into the hardships of a long distance relationship in the midst of quarantine. The artist sets aside vulnerability to express an experience that most, if not all of us, can relate to, after a year since the quarantine began.

Photo Credit: Kelly Cappelli

More commonly known under the alias L’FREAQ, Brooklyn and LA-based singer/songwriter Lea Cappelli has caught the eye of many with her gothic and soulful presence, alongside an impressive vocal range and a talent for writing lyrics that strike a chord, attracting an inclusive and diverse audience.

I wrote this song before quarantine about deep yearning for my long-distance partner. It was my challenge to strip everything away to primal instincts. When quarantine hit, it forbid us from seeing each other and the relationship ended, causing a spiral into craving and a deep dive into intimate voicemails that have been sampled on the song.
L’FREAQ describing the single, “Make Me Move”

Photo Credit: Kelly Cappelli

Some highlights of her career include a private performance for Muhammad Ali, sharing the stage with Jakob Dylan, and performing alongside Grammy-awarded artist India.Arie. Recently voted “NYC’s Favorite Emerging Artist” in a poll sponsored by The Deli Magazine, she pays homage to her Brooklyn roots. She cites her love of music as being nourished by her artistic mother from a young age, growing up in a music studio in the midst of the punk scene of NYC.

You can find where to stream her newest single, “Make Me Move,” on various platforms here, and keep an eye out for any new quarantine-inspired releases on her website.

February 24, 2021
Fiona Glenn Teams Up with Award-Winning Composer David Baron

Mid-Hudson Valley Native Fiona Glenn worked with award-winning composer David Baron on the upcoming single “Don’t Give Up.” On February 26, this motivational piano ballad will release.

At just 16 years old, Fiona Glenn has sung with various artists such as Pete Seeger, Natalie Merchant , and Simi Stone. She even appears throughout David Baron’s Whisperers album, including the title track where she sings the lead vocals.

Watch the “Whisperers” Music Video Here

As a composer, arranger, engineer, and producer, David Baron has worked with some of the most notable musicians. His influential Woodstock sound has merged with Lenny Kravitz, The Lumineers, Shania Twain, Vance Joy, and many more.

With previous experience collaborating, Fiona Glenn and David Baron delved into their new single head-on. “Don’t Give Up” blends Glenn’s rich voice with Baron’s piano performance. Also, the composer integrates a 40-piece orchestra and a throwback rhythm section throughout. The duo’s talent produces a retro-modern production with high fidelity and antique recording gear. As if the single didn’t already have enough expertise featured, the song was even mastered by Chris Athens, whose credits include Drake and The Beastie Boys.

“Don’t Give Up” was written for Baron’s wife, who stood by him during his health issue. Baron wrote these lyrics as a testament to an isolating and hopeless experience. These feelings are probably familiar to many in the circumstances of today. “Don’t Give Up” serves as a light in these times of darkness. Keep a lookout for the new single later this week.

February 24, 2021

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