NYS Music 202​1

Category: Features

  • Flashback to January 25, 1990: Voivod join Soundgarden at The Chance in Poughkeepsie

    A killer double-bill of Soundgarden and Voivod took place 31 years ago today on January 25, 1990 at The Chance in Poughkeepsie. Actually, it was a triple-bill, a band called The Big F opened, but there was some pretty intense fog. We got there just in time for Soundgarden and missed the openers.

    In early 1990, Soundgarden was promoting their 1989 major-label debut, Louder Than Love; the one before it, Ultramega OK, had also been released that year. I’d first heard their single, “Flower,” when I was DJing at WCDB and it was awesome. I picked up anything I could find or taped the stuff.

    Soundgarden c. 1990

    This show was with Jason Everman on bass, who gave Soundgarden a more metal edge live. Everman had lots of headbanging, jumping around and flying hair, which you didn’t get with his mellow-predecessor Hiro, nor his (permanent) replacement, Ben Sheperd, who would come into the band in Summer 1990. Everman’s story is really interesting – he was the second guitarist in Nirvana around the time of Bleach, but only played live with them, and left long before Nevermind and widespread fame. He then joined his second legendary Seattle band, Soundgarden, in 1989 and played with them as bassist on most of the Louder Than Love tour [he’s also on the Louder Than Live video and promo CD, and some b-sides]. 

    Everman was dismissed from Soundgarden a few months after this show, after that he played with a cool NJ band called Mind Funk, appearing on their 1992 Dropped record, again as guitarist. After that, he joined the service and I believe became a Navy SEAL or Special Forces and fought in Afghanistan and Iraq for many years. There’s a great New York Times magazine article about him which you can find online – the guy who was in Nirvana and Soundgarden before they became huge rock stars, and then became a Navy SEAL.

    Anyways, Soundgarden.  They were incredible. They played some older songs like opener “Flower” and closed with “Beyond The Wheel” from Ultramega OK. They played a whole bunch of Louder Than Love stuff in between, plus a cover of Spinal Tap’s “Big Bottom,” totally kicked ass. Chris Cornell was in a quiet mood, there was little talk to the crowd, just flying hair, big down-tuned riffs and crushing heaviness. Soundgarden was amazing in those days. I saw them three times on this tour; this was the first.

    It seems odd now that Quebec metallers Voivod headlined, but in early 1990 they were the bigger band – this was well before the Seattle explosion and alt-rock boom, long before “Black Hole Sun” and mainstream Soundgarden success. VV were promoting their Nothingface album at the time, easily my favorite Voivod record ever and one which has aged well. An incredible record, and they played most of it for today’s flashback, in 1990. I love their older, early Venom-ish stuff too, but they really didn’t play much of the older stuff at this gig – amazing show, amazing band. Soundgarden, as incredible as they were, did not blow Voivod away – a killer couple of bands, each as mighty as the other, a great diverse pairing.  All hail Voivod and Soundgarden.

    Soundgarden setlist: Flower, Hands All Over, Gun, Loud Love, Get on the Snake, Big Dumb Sex, Full on Kevin’s Mom, I Awake, Big Bottom, Beyond the Wheel

    Voivod setlist: The Unknown Knows, Nothingface, Tribal Convictions, X-Ray Mirror, Tornado, Pre-Ignition, Missing Sequences, Brain Scan, Into My Hypercube, Astronomy Domine, Inner Combustion, Ravenous Medicine

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKpt_HSa24w

    Original review by John Moore from BUZZ Magazine. Republished with permission.

  • Watch Brandon ‘Taz’ Niederauer play the Star Spangled Banner at the AFC Championship Game

    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 star spangled banner

    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.”

    taz star spangled banner
    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.

  • Dopapod “Four Years Ended” Commemorates 1/20/21

    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 emit time four years ended

    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.

    Watch “Four Years Ended” below.

  • Angélique Kidjo Records Song for Imprisoned Human Rights Activist Nasrin Sotoudeh

    Singer and activist Angélique Kidjo has contributed a song to the documentary NASRIN, titled “How Can I Tell You?” The documentary is directed and produced by Jeff Kaufman and serves as a portrait of human rights activist Nasrin Sotoudeh, currently imprisoned in Iran.

    Nasrin Sotoudeh
    Singer and activist Angélique Kidjo with a photo of human rights activist Nasrin Sotoudeh.

    When music and activism intersect, true poetry and force arise. Four-time Grammy winner Angélique Kidjo has often advocated for human rights as she has been a UNICEF ambassador since 2002. Her music is imbued with compassion, and throughout the years she has contributed songs for important causes, such as her contribution song “Leila” for the Enough Project which raised awareness for women’s rights in Raise Hope for Congo. 

    In 2020, Angélique recorded the song “How Can I Tell You?” by composers Lynn Ahrens (lyrics) and Stephen Flaherty who wrote “Ragtime,” “Once on This Island,” “Anastasia,” and many more notable works. This song was included in a documentary directed and produced by Jeff Kaufman titled Nasrin. Often referred to as the “Nelson Mandela of Iran,” Nasrin Sotoudeh fought for human rights in Iran, eventually leading to her arrest in June 2018 for defending women who publicly protested Iran’s mandatory hijab law. The government sentenced her to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes. Nasrin now has COVID-19 and a heart condition, but even from the confines of prison she has continued to challenge the authorities. 

    Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens in the recording studio

    By recording “How Can I Tell You?,” Kidjo is bringing awareness and protection to Nasrin in a powerful way, as well as other at-risk human rights activists. As of January 19th, Nasrin’s medical leave was canceled which leads to her return to Qarchak Prison, known as the most dangerous and unsanitary place for women in Iran. 

    Nasrin Sotoudeh
    Poster for NASRIN documentary.

    The music video for Angélique Kidjo’s song includes imagery of life in Iran, beautiful architecture and women in hijab, Angélique’s honeyed, compassionate voice, and Nasrin’s office sign which reads “Attorney at Law.” We follow Nasrin as she travels into her office, juxtaposed with older footage of her activism in courtrooms. The imagery is evocative, bringing the viewer close into women’s lives in Iran and the continued challenges they face together. Crowds with protest signs, rain, and peace signs overlay the lyrics “I could tell you to forget me / but the words would not be true / and I love you always even if you do.” From the point of Nasrin, she is a selfless, ever-present force of activism, and she knows her message is crucial to be spread for the women of Iran. 

    Listen and watch Angélique Kinjo’s tribute to Nasrin’s cause here. 

    The film NASRIN will be released on January 26th, 2021 with more details available at NASRINfilm.com.

  • Allyson Smith and Monica Uhm 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, Allyson Smith, Monica Uhm and many more!

    allyson smith

    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.  

  • Hearing Aide: Inspector 34 ‘Love My Life’

    Everyone knows Boston is a mecca for musicians, but few have heard of the nearby city of Lowell, just to the northwest. The place is a bastion for independent artists. Fans of The Pixies know it as the place where Live From The Fallout Shelter was recorded back in ‘86. Bibliophiles would recognize it as the birthplace of Jack Kerouac. Throughout the years, it’s remained a haven for people who thrive in the fringe. People like the members of Inspector 34. 

    I met them a few years ago when they were passing through New York on tour. Frontman Jimm Warren and his band of merry misfits shook things up at our funky little community space. They gave off a hippy indie folk vibe, but their music was tight. This wasn’t some shtick. These guys could play. 

    inspector 34

    Fast forward to the present day. While everyone has been finding their own ways to cope with current events, the members of Inspector 34 were funneling their creative energy into a full-length album. Lest you think Love My Life is full of romantic ballads, one glance at the cartoon engulfed in flames on the cover would immediately disavow you of that notion. 

    On first listen, the experimental nature of the music can be a little overwhelming. It’s a roller coaster of a journey. There are wild cacophonies that make the more ambient segments seem almost nihilistic in comparison. Think Joy Division meets Weird Al on the Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour. It’s crazy, but somehow it works. 

    On second and third listen, it’s easier to pick out the lyrical themes and musical motifs that weave through this work. The tracks tracks “Love,” “My,” and “Life” present interludes between acts. The repeating mantra “I love my life, everything is wonderful” cleanses the palate and preps the listener for the next course. There is indeed method in the madness. 

    I didn’t expect to find one album that so encapsulates the past year, but Love My Life fits the bill. I’m still peeling back the layers. There’s a lot to unpack here.

    “Everybody” is a stream-of-consciousness commentary on social interaction these days, when everyone’s live-streaming play-by-play narratives of the banalities of their lives:

    “I know all the people in the world each and every single person in the whole entire world and me and them are all hanging out at the same time and you can see what we’re doing we all can see exactly what each other’s doing and sit and wonder what we’re gonna do next what are you doing?”

    Probably the most mainstream song on the album is “The Gray House.” If you like indie punk, this one’s right up your alley. With driving guitar riffs and gang vocals along with super catchy la da da da’s, I’m betting this will be the fan favorite when they get to take these songs on the road. Never mind that it’s a song about existential dread while the world is crumbling all around, and grasping for a reason to hold onto hope. It’s fun to sing along to.

    Another song on this album that really spoke to me was “Thick Bologna.” In a recent interview, the members of Inspector 34 reveal that it is simply a song about running out of cheap bologna from the local chain store. Even Freud said that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. But I think there is license for the listener to interpret this as a song about longing for any enjoyable thing they are missing. The day my Keurig broke during quarantine, I probably could have written prose in such detail and description as to rival Nabokov’s meditation on a pencil stub in Transparent Things. Inspector 34 turned running out of bologna into a fat-riffed lament. 

    Overall, I find the album a cathartic experience. It’s both a poignant social commentary and an experiment in amalgamations of sound. It’s something you can zone out to in the psychedelic parts, and howl along with in the noisy dissonant parts. It’s dark, but in a satirical way. It’s a road map for getting through these chaotic times. And when all is said and done, and the crisis is over, Lowell is the #1 place I’d like to travel. Seeing Inspector 34 play live in their hometown is the newest addition to my bucket list. 

    You can find Love My Life at select record shops across the country. It’s also available for purchase digitally or on vinyl at Bandcamp. Or stream on Spotify. Follow Inspector 34 for updates and news.

  • Flashback: Jerry Garcia and Howard Wales bring Hooteroll? to Syracuse University

    On January 22, 1972 Jerry Garcia performed at Setnor Auditorium on Syracuse University campus with his first live touring band outside of the Grateful Dead. He teamed up with American Beauty collaborator Howard Wales who wrote the composition to the album Hooteroll? The all instrumental LP which Garcia participated with a various cast on is reminiscent of Miles Davis record Bitches Brew. Abdul Mati Klarwein who did the cover album art for Bitches Brew also sketched Hooteroll?.

    Jerry Garcia once stated that “Howard did more for my ears than anybody I ever played with because he was so extended and so different.” As for the brief January 1972 tour in which Garcia, Wales and co. performed a handful of Northeast dates, in support of Hooteroll?, Wales remembers, “Jerry played some of the best blues I ever heard him play on that tour. The Hooteroll? tour that was basically a blur, though. We had two hours of sleep a night and by the time we got finished we were ready to be delivered to the emergency room.”

    hooteroll

    The touring band that took the stage in Syracuse that night was made up of Jerry Garcia on guitar, Howard Wales on keyboards, Jerry Love on drums, Jimmy Vincent guitar, Roger Troy (aka Jellyroll) on bass and vocals. The 700 person capacity music hall on top of SU Hill houses a 3,823-pipe Holtkamp Organ below a 70-foot-high open timber roof and stained glass windows. The show consisted of a 22 song set list that was mostly heavy improvisational acid jazz-rock fusion and does not have any live vocals till almost 30 minutes into the performance. With original jam tracks like “Space Funk” it could be said that they helped coin the category.

    The entire performance weaves throughout galaxies on a cold January night with the Hooteroll? track “A Trip to What Next” One can only imagine the steamy visual illusions this music created off the stained glass windows inside Setnor that night. Unlike Jerry’s live playing with the Grateful Dead in which he led the pack, in the beginning of 72 it was Wales who was calling the plays. Fifty minutes into the performance is Garcia’s only words to the crowd where he introduces the band and takes a seat to see what unfolds with everybody else. After his quick ten minute set break Garcia returns to play his Wales acclaimed “best blues” on “Sweet Cocaine.”

    This Dinosaur BBQ blues ballad was One of Four songs that featured any vocals by Jellyroll, “when your downtown and left all alone, i need some rest woman, lord when i come home, i can’t get nobody, lord to sooth my soul, well i feel like a dog that’s lost his bone” After another 30 minute journey down the improvisational tunnel led by Wales on Hammond B3 organ the ensemble encores with “Gypsy Women.”

    Hooteroll

    A week later the band made their way down the Thruway to the University of Buffalo for a performance on January 29, 1972. Very limited material exists of their work, Wales recently found the Buffalo tape and observed “It was a great tour because none of it was rehearsed. Some people are surprised when they hear that but we were capable of being out of the box. The way people get that way is because they’re jammers. Jammers have no fear.” Drummer Joe Russo had no panic over the years assembling musicians for their tribute to Hooteroll?

    Hooteroll
    The Rose, Jules R Dot, and Stanford S Dot Sentor. School of Music, Syracuse University

    His third time was last January 12 at Brooklyn Bowl for the 2020 NYC Winter Jazz Fest where Russo led an all-star cast tribute to the composition. Joe Russo Presents Hooteroll? + Plus! at Winter Jazz Fest; The Bogie Band Debut. After a long strange trip of 77 years, Howard Wales just passed away on December 7, 2020. His iconic keyboard sound can be heard on The Grateful Dead’s signature studio version of “Truckin‘.” “There was a point in which he was going to join the Dead, but Howard was to out there for them”

    Listen to the Studio Recording of Hooteroll? below.

  • Hearing Aide: Lost Breed ‘Speak No Evil’

    2020 was a year (mostly) devoid of live music, and you’d expect that it should have been full of new music, right?  Not as much as you’d think, I’ve found, but this heavy release from Lost Breed, which snuck out near the end of that year of plague, conflict, division and staying-at-home, was a nice surprise.

    lost breed

    Lost Breed is a band with New York roots.  They arose from the ashes of Albany/Colonie-area metal band Blind Legion, who had released a killer 7” single (“Nice Guys Finish Last” b/w “Used to be Blind”) in the mid-80s, along with a couple of key, Sabbath-meets-NWOBHM demos before disbanding (since released officially by Portugese label Blood & Iron records as ‘Much Too Fast –  The Anthology 83/86’). 

    Most of the ex-members moved out west and formed Lost Breed in Van Nuys, California, initially with Blind Legion vocalist Gary Tocco, later with doom-metal legend Scott “Wino” Weinrich (of the Obsessed, St. Vitus, Spirit Caravan, The Hidden Hand, etc.), before the band settled on west-coast vocalist Pat Lydon, with the band filled out with ex-Blind Legion New Yorkers Eric “Ike” Baestlein (guitar) and Vinnie Augustine (bass), and L.A. native Jamie Silver drumming.  The band released some mighty, Sabbathy, doom-metal albums on German label Hellhound in the 90s (‘Save Yourself’, ‘The Evil In You & Me’), before the band became more of a part-time affair, when the New York half moved back east. 

    Until now: in late 2020, out of nowhere, this new record by Lost Breed dropped, somehow created mid-pandemic with half the band (Vinnie and Ike) here in Upstate NY, the other half out west.  This is a doom-marinated blast of creeping heaviness, features singers from two eras of the band, and absolutely is worth hunting down. 

    Side 1 features the legend Wino back on vocals (and lead guitar – he also did the swirlingly evil back-cover painting) for the first time since the late 80s, Side 2 features “classic” LB vocalist Pat Lydon singing.  Both sides are gloriously, stomping hefty, dragging you down to the depths with crushing heaviness, where tentacled things crawl, as if weighted by lead.  Each vinyl side features 4 tracks, and Side 1 (“Wino”) would please both fans of vintage Lost Breed, and Wino’s great bands such as the D.C.-area legends The Obsessed, or the 80s doom-metal deities St. Vitus, “Cradle to the Grave” and the perfectly-titled “Doom” being standouts  

    Oddly, as legendary as Wino is and as much as I love every single thing the guy has done, the Side 2 Lydon-sung songs might be even better, especially “Siren Song” and the apocalyptically heavy “Stalker.”  Churning, crawling, leaden riffs and ripping Baestlein solos lurk throughout Side 2), both vocalists howl with mournful authority, top-notch doom on both sides, soaked in Sabbathy goodness – a  killer release.

    Buy the album on Ebay.

    Key tracks: “Cradle to the Grave”, “Doom”, “Siren Song”, “Stalker”

  • X Ambassadors Announce Hyper-Creative New Multi-Part Project (Eg)

    X Ambassadors have announced a collaborative project with emerging artists, creating an eclectic atmosphere for their genreless songs to swim in. The multi-platinum band shared the first single from (Eg), titled “ultraviolet.tragedies” with emerging artist Terrell Hines, a fiery track that captures the band’s multidimensional production. The song and electrifying music video are available now at all digital retailers through KIDinaKORNER/Interscope Records.

    X Ambassadors
    Album Art for X Ambassadors’ Upcoming Release (Eg)

    Several other fresh artists feature on (Eg), such as Jensen McRae and Earl St. Clair. Both highly collaborative and prolific, X Ambassadors crafted a project as a free-flowing, experimental venture. Sam Harris revealed that the impulse to create arose from new discoveries in production and songwriting work with others. “We wanted to give voice to these incredible artists that people may not have heard yet, and really let their imagination be at the forefront of everything,” he says. “They’re all very much artists with their own unique style that’s so specific to them; they truly don’t care about fitting into any sort of mold, or curating their sound to anything other than what they envision.” 

    Harris says that their collaboration endeavors have encouraged the band to dive into their creativity fully, to make what they love and not overthink the process. (Eg) has a natural sensibility of the pure joy and freedom that come with the art of collaboration. On “ultraviolet.tragedies,” X Ambassadors join with artist Terrel Hines. His sound amalgamates eerie soul, alt-pop, hip-hop, post-punk, and southern funk, building a colorful world for his songs to live in. Georgia-born and Los Angeles-based, Hines critiques society, ponders the limitlessness of technology in his songs that captivate the listener with the true magic of inventive music.

    “ultraviolet.tragedies” was borne from a jam session between X Ambassadors and Hines that shines in the music video. More cinematic, including pauses for conversation, this song sings eerily to a futuristic visual. Created with Microsoft Azure Kinect Body Tracking SDK, the artists are captured in 3D in real time so that they can be superimposed into any world of their choice. The technology opens a world for X Ambassadors’ insatiable creativity in their music. 

    Hailing from Ithaca, New York, X Ambassadors is comprised of three hyper-creative men. Lead vocalist Sam Harris and keyboardist Casey Harris are brothers, with drummer Adam Levin whom they met when Sam attended the New School in New York City. Their full-length 2015 debut VHS launched the band on a three-year touring escapade. With radio hits such as “Renegades” and “Unsteady,” their release is now certified platinum. The lyrical content draws from the Harris brothers’ youth. ORION, their sophomore release,followed in 2019. After years of world touring, X Ambassadors have crafted more innovative, bemusing songs for release on (Eg) this year. 

  • Melt, NYC Pop-Soul Band Release Dreamy New Single “Hours”

    NYC-based psychedelic pop-soul group Melt released new single, “Hours,” ahead of their hotly anticipated forthcoming EP. The contemplative ballad is the third single released from the band’s debut EP, set to come out next month.

    Available across all streaming platforms, the single captures the band’s sonic and lyrical maturity – a welcome presentation of their impressive studio prowess. A balanced combination of a passionate low end, moody synth leads, inquisitive guitar lines, and a lustful melody create “Hours.”

    melt

    Hours totally captures the energy and intoxication we feel working on something new. We wanted to convey that feeling of meeting someone –– the excitement, but also the haziness and fantasy of it,

    Eric Gabriels, Vocals and Keys

    “Hours” was produced and engineered by Aaron Nevezie at The Bunker Studio, mixed by Michael Brauer, and mastered by Heba Kadry. Melt is known throughout the East Coast for their exhilarating live performances. The track captures Melt’s signature sound, despite the challenges the current pandemic presented to the creative process. 

    melt

    Melt is: Veronica Stewart-Frommer (lead vocals), Eric Gabriel (vocals, keys), Marlo Shankweiler (guitar), Josh Greenzeig (drums), Nick Sare (saxophone), Lucas Saur (bass), and Aaron Alcouloumre (trumpet).

    Something unique about this project is that before we release new music, we normally test it live on tour for months to years. Quarantine forced us to hunker down, write new songs, and create—without any feedback from an audience,

    Veronica Stewart-Frommer, Vocals

    When Melt records a new song, they turn to each other and ask “what the hell is this band?”  The septet’s sound is rooted in soul and psychedelia, infusing ethereal jam-sections into existential pop songs.  Dubbed “one groovy super organism” by NPR, four years after their first-ever release “Sour Candy” went viral in 2017 and reached #5 on Billboard’s US Viral 50 Chart (and #6 in Canada). Melt sells out shows across the Northeast and repeatedly in their hometown of NYC at venues Mercury Lounge and The Knitting Factory. 

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