NYS Music 202​1

Category: Exclusive

  • 20 Years Later: Oysterhead Plays The Utica Memorial Auditorium

    Hey Uticats, Police, Primus, and Phish fans, do you remember when Oysterhead played the Utica Memorial Auditorium on November 9, 2001? It was Stewart Copeland and Les Claypool’s first time in Utica. Trey Anastasio’s first of four musical projects debuted in the Mohawk River city at the base of the Adirondacks.

    Oysterhead

    If you recorded the HBO show Reverb ,you’ll have a VHS tape of Oysterhead’s inaugural tour footage from Los Angeles’s Palladium to New York City’s Roseland Ballroom during its Fall 2001 episode. Their last television performance would be from NBC studios in NYC for on Late Night with Conan O’Brien.

    Ironic collaboration considering the trios background during the 1980’s. Stewart Copeland went from playing the Fire Barn Club across from Syracuse City Hall with his band “The Police” to selling out the Carrier Dome a year later at Syracuse University & various other arenas across the world during the decade.

    Oysterhead

    Les Claypool was in California during the 1980’s auditioning for Metallica’s vacant bassist slot at the time. He was also brainstorming with drummer Jay Lane and guitarist Larry LaLonde about a new project called Primus.

    In 1983, we know that Trey Anastasio just hooked up with Syracuse native drummer Jon Fishman at University of Vermont to form their new group appropriately named Phish.

    The only collision was during Fall Tour 1996 when Les Claypool and his band Primus sat in with Phish for “Wildwood Weed Harpua” in Las Vegas. Phish covered “So Lonely”by the Police in November 1998. That’s all we knew. These artists were certainly castaways at sea during the 1980’s while The Police’s “Roxanne” dominated the air waves.


    It all started in New Orleans by “Superfly” during Jazz Fest who curate random musicians to play the late night gig. Les was called on by Superfly with the intention “of musicians to get other interesting musicians to play a night club after Jazz Fest” Claypool called up Trey and Stewart from always wanting to work with them. It was that simple. Although Trey told HBO’s Reverb of the trios seed while the pearls were jamming

    I get these glimpses of potential and chemistry between the three of us. First time we got together we did a jam in my barn and I thought it was incredible. Then we did the Strand Theater show and I thought it kind of sucked. But then Stewart sent me the good moments of the show and those motivated me…We got to do another album, We got to tour Japan.

    Trey Anastasio

    Trey told The New Yorker in Fall of 2015 the hilarity of the trio snowshoeing through Vermont to the surprise of locals who recognized the formation. “Could you imagine walking through the snowy woods and seeing me Les and Stewart on the trail?” They didn’t make it to Japan but they made their way to Utica, New York’s Memorial Auditorium for their 14th show of a national 22 tour date support of their only album The Grand Pecking Order.

    Oysterhead

    The Oysterhead trio’s distinct backgrounds came to light in Utica when Les addressed a sign from the GA crowd in bold magic marker titled “Les is Evil.” Claypool told the New York audience during Rubberneck Lions:

    I’m looking directly at a bright red sign that says Les is Evil. I don’t know if that’s a fair thing to say. Are you saying in comparison to Mr. Happy Pants Trey Anipasta that I’m the evil one? Is what your saying? Because in the grand scheme of things compared to Marilyn Manson or GG Allin… I’m not very evil. In this situation if were looking at Trey Anastasio as the symbol of good than yes i am a symbol of evil. But not so much evil like ah Satan or Vlad the Impaler. More like Evil Kanevil… If there was a Harley Davidson sportster in this room and four trucks…I would jump those sons of bitches for you all

    Les Claypool

    Les Claypool & Trey Anastasio traded vocals all evening, with the 2001 anthem “Army’s on Ecstasy” resonating with the fall crowd. The Army’s on ecstasy so they say, I read all about it in USA Today. During “Shadow of Man,” Les appeared from the darkened hockey rink stage with a pair of extended eye balls attached to a LED space helmet portraying psychedelic illuminations toward the performance.

    Oysterhead

    Trey used Jimmy Page like theremin signals from his antler-adorned custom Languedoc guitar, flickering sounds from the edge of his palm to the Upstate crowd. His acoustic Martin was pulled out for the twangy tune “Birthday Boys,” a tun that Claypool referenced in Colorado in February 2020, that the song is about four things. “Vegas, a penis, some cocaine and pair of breasts.” Trey added “it’s also about Kid Rock who was there with Les and I… the birthday boys”

    Stewart Copeland emerged from behind his hanging percussion kit adjacent to the drum rig for all the bells and whistles of sound. He even got on vocals asking the clergy to “Wield the Spade.” After funking out on “Mr. Oysterhead” to close the night, the trio paid homage to the most Viking-like rock acts to grace the Americas, as Les Claypool took on Robert Plant’s howling for a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” for the encore.

    Oysterhead flew full circle to the Northeast this past July 4 at the Peach Music Festival on Montage Mountain. It marked the bands first headlining festival gig since the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Summer of 2006. They are set to headline the Sweet Water 420 fest in Georgia with Trey Anastasio Band in 2021.

    Les Claypool returned to Utica just once in 2019 to the Saranac Brewery as part of The Lennon Claypool Delirium show. Attendees in the Utica crowd that night were fellow bassist Krist Novoselic from Nirvana and Rochester harpist Mikaela Davis. In November 2005 Trey returned to the Aud with Tony Hall on bass as changing cast of the Trey Anastasio Band during the Phish hiatus. The 11/11 nights special guests included Jon Fishman and Mike Gordon with the exception of Page McConnell. On Phish Fall Tour 2010 the Vermont quartet culminated their concert film Guyutica on DVD upon return to the Utica Memorial Auditorium, There is something about those Upstate, NY hockey arena stages that just rock.

    God Damn, Playing in this Hockey Arena rink shit is fun

    Les Claypool, Utica

    Oysterhead, Friday 11/09/2001 Memorial Auditorium: Utica, NY

    Set: Oz is Ever Floating, Rubberneck Lions, Little Faces—>Hello Skinny—>Army’s on Ecstasy, Radon Balloon, Pseudo Suicide, Shadow of a Man, Wield the Spade, Birthday Boys*, Mr Oysterhead

    Encore: Immigrant Song**

    *acoustic
    **Led Zeppelin Cover

  • Tom Petty Lives on in new Documentary

    We have some big birthdays on the horizon and what better way to celebrate Tom Petty’s birthday, than with a documentary film on his life. Somewhere You Feel Free: The Making of Wildflowers reminds us of the true humble being this rock star really was, bringing you a closer look over his incredible career. It’s hard to believe that we lost him only four years ago. The theatrical release will, of course, be on Petty’s birthday, October 20, featuring a one-night global celebration via Trafalgar Releasing with another encore screening in select cinemas on October 21.

    Be sure to be there to get the full experience on the big screen with immersive surround-sound, that is before the YouTube Originals worldwide release. But that’ll be later this year for free in full 4K resolution.

    This documentary has so much potential, already winning the Audience Award at SXSW 2021 and Best Documentary Film at the Boulder Film Festival. Director Mary Wharton aimed to please after releasing the critically acclaimed Jimmy Carter: Rock and Roll President, Sam Cooke: Legend, Elvis Lives!, and The Beatles Revolution.  After the gold reissue of Wildflowers & All The Rest from Warner Records, we have been waiting for the second half of Tom’s autobiographical masterpiece.

    Somewhere You Feel Free: The Making of Wildflowers will almost make you feel like Tom is back and rocking right in the room with you. This documentary will focus on the period of 1993-1995, where, if you forgot, Tom was working with legendary producer Rick Rubin for the first time. You’ll see some never-before-seen footage of the boisterous life of a rock and roller and innate genius. Filled with new interviews from album co-producer and Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell along with Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench, the documentary is waiting to blow you away.

    Warner Music Entertainment and Warner Records with Peter Afterman, Mary Wharton, Dan Braun and Adria Petty produced a documentary that will illuminate an insider look on Tom Petty in his height of iconicity.

    If you want to hear a little more. Mary Wharton and Adria Petty spoke about the film with rock author/journalist David Fricke on SiriusXM’s Tom Petty Radio. Tickets can be found here

  • Craig Greenberg Spreads Unity in new single, “We’ll Come Together”

    “The world is counting on us now, we have to find a way.” Powerful lines are imbued in the new song, “We’ll Come Together,” by Queens based singer and native New Yorker Craig Greenberg.

    “I wrote this song the day after the 2020 election, from having a strong positive feeling that I hadn’t had in a very long while about the country,” Greenberg expresses when asked about the message of the song.” Coming off a year of isolation, lockdowns and protests, it’s safe to say that we need a catchy song that promotes unity.

    Although the message of the song is, “Getting past our the differences of the previous few years,” Greenberg originally saw this piece as a, “Sardonic type of song in the vain of Randy Newman,” but after really hitting on the positivity message, Greenberg decided to keep it as an uplifting song, going on to say, “And really I just thought, coming out of the pandemic, people could just use an upbeat song.

    When asked about any specific lines or images that were meant to be conveyed, Greenberg responded with, We’ll love our country the red white and blue. All the other colors, yeah we’ll stand for them too” really sums up the feeling of the song for me.”

    Greenberg has also released a video for the song, which has received a great response from the public, shown above.

    Album Premiere: Craig Greenberg 'Phantom Life'
    Listen to his released songs on Spotify

    Greenberg has self-released 4 albums in the past 10 years, the most recent a 12 track album titled “Phantom Life,” which was released in Dec 2020. He has performed upwards of 1000 shows, since his start playing in bars while living in Chile, and later Spain.

    His songs have received praise in American Songwriter, the Huffington Post, Relix Magazine, and have been played on radio stations all around the country and internationally.

    Greenberg was born in Bayside, Queens and grew up on the south shore of Long island.  His mom was from Manhattan and Westchester, and Dad from Brooklyn. When he was 25, He left NYC to teach English abroad in Chile. He was only supposed to be there for six months, but was offered his first gig playing covers in bars. Preforming six nights a week for another year, Greenberg learned to sing and preform.

    “I was fortunate to have a few good music teachers at my public school in LI, and as well a private guitar teacher, who really opened my eyes and ears. I also had several friends who were more advanced players who I would have show me stuff as well.”

    “I’ve been making music as long as I can remember. I knew from a young age that I wanted to affect people and improve their lives, and when I started writing music that just seemed like the ideal way to do that.”

    For upcoming events, new music and updates visit craiggreenbergmusic.com

  • Some Kind of Jam 15 Kicks Off Northeast Festival Season

    Some Kind of Jam 15 went down in Schuylkill Haven, PA from April 29th until May 2nd, 2021. While patrons started showing up Thursday, the main festivities began on Friday and despite unrelenting winds the festival went off in a well oiled fashion. Headlining Friday was Lespecial, eager to play tracks from their latest album, Ancient Homies, in front of a dance happy crowd. Saturday culminated with Colorado jam stalwarts the Magic Beans taking the main stage also with plenty of new material to play with their latest album, Slice of Life, dropping the day prior.

    In between mainstage acts, the indoor stage kept revelers entertained and out of the wind. Lee Ross might have been the busiest man on site with no less than five sets throughout the weekend. Other sets of note were the psychedelic stylings of the Iceman Special and a latenight set by up and coming Neighbor that balanced catchy songs and deep jams to the delight of those in attendance.

    While many aspects of the live music and festival landscape are still up in the air for 2021, the smiles and revelry of those in attendance at Some Kind of Jam 15 showed that a return to something close to normal is possible in these uncertain times.

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  • Premiere: Sam Rappaport steps out with “Till the Morning Comes”

    East Williamsburg based singer/songwriter, Sam Rappaport, released his debut single today, “Till the Morning Comes.” The song is an intimate and emotional piano-driven ballad with a paced delivery that recalls Norah Jones and Randy Newman.

    sam rappaport

    For most of his life, Sam believed he was headed for a career in the NBA. But after a clarifying stint as a shooting guard on the Vassar College Men’s Basketball team, he decided to turn his aspirations toward his first love: music.

    I have to be honest–I was a mediocre D3 college basketball player. I held onto the NBA dreams as long as I could, but once I hit college it was pretty clear that those dreams were out of reach. Still, I spent the first three years of college thinking that I’d end up overseas playing in some Euro league. I remember finishing a practice my senior year, running to the bathroom, heaving all the liquid in my body into a trash can, and thinking–I don’t want to do this anymore. So I quit. And it was quite liberating, until I realized there was a great void in my life that I now had to fill.

    Sam cut his teeth as a keyboardist in Chicago, playing for two years with R&B singer Brandon James at venues across the city. At Brooklyn open mics, house parties and comedy shows, he started to gain his footing as a songwriter with the ability to pull from folk, rock, and soul to craft intimate, understated arrangements. 

    Rappaport is also a member of indie-rock band Gooseberry, and began writing “Till the Morning Comes” early in the pandemic, knowing that it would be geared for his solo work.

    I’ve been playing piano since I was five. It’s always been there. But frankly, I’ve never felt that I was good enough to put it front and center. I mean, I still don’t. There were a lot of mental blocks I had to find my way around before I was able to share the things I was writing.

    “Till the Morning Comes” is a song that I wrote toward the beginning of the pandemic. It just seems to flow better as a piano-driven ballad, as opposed to something that needs a drum kit, electric guitar, etc. I wanted to open an avenue to release solo material that might not fit with Gooseberry, which leans a little more toward indie-rock.

    With a style that reflects the aforementioned Jones and Newman, his song writing style is still in development. Rappaport teamed up with East Williamsburg based producer Lorenzo Wolff. A stripped down piano ballad soars into a second chorus with the help of ethereal synths and the twang of a lap steel. It is there that Sam’s knack for poignant storytelling and tasteful melodies is on full display.

    If I do have a songwriting style, I don’t know what it is. I’d rather others decide. I have, over the past year, spent a lot of time listening to Tom Waits and Randy Newman, and I’m sure those influences show up in “Till the Morning Comes.” I’m interested in storytelling, loneliness, intimacy, the sounds of an old upright piano–I hope some of that comes across in the song. I’m still finding my footing.

    The vocals, both melancholic and hopeful, float delicately above the instruments. “Till the Morning Comes” is a song that rises from the stillness of the night, yearning for some way to steel itself against the uncertainty of tomorrow. 

    For more from Sam Rappaport, visit his Bandcamp and Instagram.

  • Best of NYS Music 2020: Best Streams

    Best of 2020 finds The Beacon Jams on the headline for threefold: It took the podium for ‘Best Streaming Series’, ‘Best Charitable Effort,’ and outstanding audience interaction. While we didn’t expect much from such a painstaking year, one thing remains true: music always prevails. The Beacon Jams and Trey also came up countless times in other Best Of categories.

    Best of 2020: Overall Streaming Series

    The Beacon Jams earns the Best of 2020 Streaming series, an eight-week residency featuring acoustic and electric performances from Trey Anastasio, with bonus content and audience interaction. New York City’s historic Beacon Theatre took this on as its first ever virtual residency. Anastasio performed every Friday at 8:00 p.m. ET from October 9, and concluded November 27. The effort streamed exclusively on Twitch.

    With Trey’s name attached, it is hard to believe anything would fall short of ‘Best of.’ Trey is an all-in type of musician, despite being reluctant to create anything virtual. His leap of faith: The Beacon Jams.

    Trey calls The Beacon home. With countless performances at the theatre it was a natural choice. After a crazy two years of touring Anastasio didn’t think live-streaming was necessary. Times changed and he was still creating, with the July release of Lonely Trip, as well as prerecorded SummerStage Jubilee performance and a Jimmy Fallon appearance. While the mass of energy (people) in a live performance is hard to match, Trey was not disappointed with the reaction from The Beacon Jams. In fact, it was overwhelming and inspiring. “I don’t know if I want to play without our community with me,” but we we’re right Trey. We’re right here.

    So much of my work is about getting out of my own way, rather than fighting toward something. The work is to not mess up what already exists. There’s a tsunami of energy happening, and my mind is the impediment.” 

    Trey Anastasio – Homing Beacon, Relix interview
    Best of 2020: Charitable Effort From a Streaming Series

    In true Anastasio fashion, there is always a charity or greater good in mind. With The Beacon Jams, there were two: The WaterWheel Foundation and Divided Sky Fund (DSF). Since 1997 Phish and WaterWheel have been raising money for those in need via touring, while The Divided Sky Fund focuses more on delivering quality care and compassionate treatment for those suffering form alcoholism and addiction. Likewise, all net profit from The Beacon Jams merchandise sales went directly to DSF.

    The Divided Sky Fund crushed their initial goal of $150,000. As the organization inched towards its benchmark with mass fan-donations under $100, large sums (upwards of $15,000) and merchandise sales currently raised over $422,000 dollars. This is again feat in itself, especially during times where fans may have had little money to spend. Anastiaso set the bar high, gave back, and instigated this generous giving-tree lifecycle.

    You can still donate to DSF and aide The Beacon Jams’ efforts via Paypal HERE. Not only is your donation visible, but you can feature a public note or inspiration. A $20.00 donation is auto-populated, but amounts of any kind are more than generous, and can be marked anonymous. They are very close to their new $450,000 goal.

    My hope is that this fund can touch many lives with positive support for addiction recovery. Thank you so much for music each Friday. It became something my girlfriend and I looked forward to every week.

    Chris Strohm – Comments after Donating to DSF
    Best Of 2020: Stream For Audience Interaction

    Twenty-twenty was an odd-egg, but Anastasio opened a Beacon Jam set with “Corona,” interjecting a bit of comic-relief. Music lovers found happiness in all live stream series. It made light of a crude reality around us and social detachment. Livestreams sucked us back into how music should be: a constant, ever-changing dialogue between musicians, instruments and the fans.

    Other Streaming Series in 2020

    Other streaming series were hot on NYS Music’s Best of list from Umphrey’s Mcgee, Aqueous, Goose’s Bingo Tour, Dinner and a Movie, Lotus, Noon Chorus, The Talking Dead and multiple mentions of moe. Share your favorite streams of 2020 with NYS Music.

    Syracuse beat-driven psychedelic jam band, Vaporeyes, took their own flair to a livestream series via Facebook. With over a dozen episodes and a November album release, Cantrips, the band took advantage of live streams to the fullest.

    Catch up on Vaporeyes’ live streams via Facebook

    Heavy hitters moe. rolled with the punches after their drive-in series was shut down due to COVID-19 concerns. The band fired back with a live studio stream from Big Blue, and a saucy full length album stream from The Palace Theatre lobby. If you missed it, you missed out. Click play and get taken away with soaring vocals and unmistaken live-concert energy.

    Red Rocks is magical in its own regard. Add a trippy light-show and cosmic jam band, and well, you see where this is going. Lotus dominated a livestream in two sets and you didn’t have to leave your couch. The 4K livestream sucked us into production. Lotus released Free Swim, a 10-track album on 2xLP Vinyl in August, paired with this event at the Ampitheater as we closed out September.

    Make sure you check out all of your favorite bands and support them during these, still, turbulent times. Stay updated with NYS Music as your #1 source for all things music across New York State and beyond. The Best of 2020 is just beginning. And we promise, once we recap we’ll leave it where it belongs – dead in the past. Thank you to live stream series for keeping us alive.

    Check out photos from The Beacon Jams by Jake Silco
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