Inspiring Capital Region musician Athena Burke has recently released her new album, God is Here, on November 19. Produced by Devon Seegers, the album features eleven songs that address healing amid heartbreak and loss, and finding faith in something greater than what your eyes can see.
With a message celebrating the humble joys in life each day, Athena’s tender yet powerful vocals pair with deeply honest lyrics on an earthy and vulnerable electropop soundscape. Burke is honest about the human experience, saying:
No matter what you’ve done or what you believe, you are held in a love that is eternal, universal, and inclusive. God loves the oddballs and God wants to unite us, not divide us. A new era is dawning and although it is chaotic now, there’s a groundswell of unity pulsing in our world.
Athena Burke
Growing up, Athena was abused as a child, and found the piano as a bastion of harmony as a toddler. This led to her studies at Berklee College of Music, followed by street performing and concerts across the country. Inspired to heal her trauma, Athena trained in meditation, breathwork, and personal growth practices, and in wanting to give back, Athena has given thousands of spiritual guidance and healing sessions and performances worldwide.
Athena Burke sings honestly about the human experience of a devotional person. God is Here is not specifically Christian or derived from any specific religion, but rather about finding the divinity and love in everything, everywhere, in everyone, and every situation.
Athena has been featured on the PBS/WMHT AHA! A House of Arts TV show, as well as receiving extensive airplay on WEXT AND WEQX. She is a frequent performer at her local listening room in Cambridge, NY, The Depot.
Bearsville Theater in Woodstock played host to Mihali, singer and songwriter known best for his work with Vermont’s Twiddle, on December 11, part of NYS Music’s Jam for Tots series. An enthralled and captive crowd filled the space in Bearsville, eager to celebrate the Mihalidaze.
Mihali’s solo project incorporates loops and layers connecting with lyrics in a mysterious, yet energetically powerful way. The use of everything from beatbox to bass juxtapose with the pure vulnerability of simply a voice and a guitar. The result is a soothing connection between crowd members among themselves, with the stage, the environment in which one experiences this music.
Experiencing Mihali at Bearsville Theater felt different than watching the home streams over the past year. The beautiful wooden circular backdrop bearing a logo with a mushroom not dissimilar in shape to the artist’s Santa hat glowed and pulsed with different colors throughout the show. The impression the backdrop gave was something like “all natural organic forest” but with some magic. The good kind. The kind with cute woodland creatures and the occasional talking fern.
The hardwood of the Bearsville theater is said to hide over 100 speakers in the ceiling of the old listening room. The way the music balanced so perfectly from every corner of the venue continued to reinforce the idea of some type of presence of a universal connection and wordless communication going on that night. Encapsulated in both wood, light and sound, there was an unspoken transfer of energy happening reflecting some type of phenomenon.
The transfer of energy between the green glow-worm-eque necklaces worn by many attendees seemed to balance out the warm salmony-pink glow of the somehow perfect number of chandeliers smiling down from above.
The spinning of Emily’s LED Poi looked to have a more dominant pastel tone as opposed to the vivd colors prevalent at many “up all night” type of festivals. The string light necklaces even looked muted when blended with the color bounding off the hard wood musical cocoon of a venue.
The complimentary nature seemed to continue right down to the colors of the clothing. The particular tint and tone of choice among fans had this young reindeer, almost fawn-like look to it. Whether boots or shirts, jackets or skirts… there was no denying the amount of earth tones out to dance that night.
It felt like an honor to be let into anyone’s home or studio during a time of universal struggle the recognize something familiar. Mihali’s intimacy in the way he communicates his music did not change from home to office and provided the perfect celebration during the holiday season.
Less than a week before they were slated to take the stage at Madison Square Garden, Phish announced today that due to the concerns over the wave of COVID-10 Omicron variant that is sweeping through New York City and elsewhere, the MSG shows will postpone to April, rather than being outright cancelled.
Phish will honor all tickets for the December 29-January 1 shows at MSG on the rescheduled dates of April 20-23, marking the first time Phish has played New York City in April since 1994 at the Beacon Theatre. Get the Webcast here.
The band said in a statement:
With the Omicron variant of Covid-19 surging in New York City, we have made the very difficult decision to reschedule next week’s run of shows at Madison Square Garden.
The health and safety of Phish fans, our crew, and venue staff is paramount in our minds. While Phish has played shows this year as the pandemic has continued, this variant’s ability for rapid transmission is unprecedented.
We are also mindful that a significant number of people travel for these shows and then return to their communities, and we want to avoid accelerating transmission of the virus.
Finally, even with the strictest of tour Covid protocols, the prolonged exposure of a four-night indoor run (plus the days of preparation and travel) to critical crew and staff considerably increases the possibility of having to shut the shows down once they’ve started.
We’re fortunate to have found a four-night window in The Garden’s schedule, and the shows will now take place April 20-23, 2022, including a three-set show (as originally planned for New Year’s Eve) on April 22.
Ticket holders can request a refund anytime over the next 30 days, beginning today, if they cannot commit to the rescheduled show date. If a refund is not requested during the allotted time, tickets will be valid for the new show date. Please note: If you purchased from an authorized ticket sales channel (Ticketmaster, Phish Tickets, CID or venue website) these ticketing partners will be contacting all buyers shortly with further instructions.
Thank you all for your understanding. Stay healthy and safe, take care of each other out there and please get vaccinated and boosted if you haven’t already.
No word yet if Phish will stream archival shows in place of the anticipated New Years run at Madison Square Garden.
The April shows would mark the second ever ‘Island Run’ of shows, although unofficially so.
The rescheduled shows also mean that Phish will start the rescheduled dates on 4/20/22. Phish has not played on April 20 since 1994, so there’s that.
On December 10th and 11th Buffalo was host to TID The Season 2021, one of the craziest shows put on by the hometown band, Every Time I Die. This two day show took place this year at the Buffalo River Works, a venue with two stories, ice skating rinks, ferris wheel, and more. Previous years, this had been held at other venues, such as The Rec Room. This has been a popular event for many years in Buffalo, so much so that when the weekend passes went on sale, they would immediately sell out, so you would have to get your hands on them quickly.
Every Time I Die
Upon arriving Friday evening, the first thing you see is the long, long line of anxious show goers waiting to get it and with the show always being in December and in Buffalo, you just never know what to expect but thankfully the weather was decent. Since the show has a Christmas theme, many showed up in fashion, with their santa hats, matching Christmas PJs, or holiday themed suits. First nights line up was 68’, which if you’ve seen their performance, it’s a sight to see. Then Kublai Khan really got the show and got the crowd going with their hardcore sound.
View from the second floor showing the packed house
A tradition of TID The Season is to mix up the sound and they did that with a band called Mariachi El Bronx, who brought some spicy tunes and the crowd was digging so much that a congo line was started! There was a slight band change as Poison The Well was listed to play but sadly had to drop out so another hometown favorite joined in on the bill, which was Buried Alive and they took things up quite a few notches. In between sets, there were other things to enjoy, food onsite, multiple bars, they even had an ice skating rink and curling available.
Mariachi El Bronx
Also, if you looked around enough, you would catch a Christmas lighted Every Time I Die sign which many throughout the night took photos and selfies with, and even Santa would appear from time to time. Next to take the stage was Circa Survive, which toned things down a bit just before the main event and as Circa’s set ends, a curtain drops, which a yule log burning was projected. The anticipation builds as the band sets up and in all in one motion, the curtain drops and Every Time I Die kicks off and the crowd explodes.
Wrestling kicking off the second day of TID The Season
Saturday started earlier in the day and with something unique to the show. One of the members Andy Williams, the guitarist, has been a long time wrestler and with every TID The Season show, the second day kicks off with a few matches and it’s truly a spectacle to witness, you may catch Santa flying around in the ring.
Every Time I Die performing on their final night of TID The Season
Once the wrestling was over, it was time to get to the music and kick things off was End and then followed by The Dirty NIL. If you ended up being bored in between sets or at the end of one, one of the other activities you could do was a bull riding machine, which was fun to see people doing their best to hold on but ultimately flown to the side.
Ice T
Continuing the music is Spiritbox with their beautiful clean vocals and gut wrenching screams, and by now, countless crowd surfers have made their way to the front. Following Spiritbox is The Bronx, which the previous night, Mariachi El Bronx which consist of some of the same members but The Bronx has a totally different sound that got the crowd to really move, especially when the singer dived into the crowd and sang two songs as a circle pit formed around him.
Knocked Loose with the unique metalcore sound, got the circle pits really going. Now, after them, was another change up from the metal, hard rock with Ice T who is well known on the stage and tv but the energy and vibe was strong nonetheless. Finally, for the conclusion of this entire two day show, we have Every Time I Die closing out again, who this time while setting up, decided the night needed to feel more like Christmas, so let it snow! The night came to an end with Every Time I Die playing their heart out for the second night and fans singing along to every song. This show has been around for awhile and has created so many memories and so many look forward to it, it almost feels like a tradition and hopefully it will continue.
The sound of New Orleans will make its way across New York State in Spring 2022 as The Soul Rebels embark on “Epic Vibes Tour” with stops in Buffalo, Waterloo, Albany, Brooklyn and Westhampton Beach.
The Soul Rebels recently announced they will be taking part in fellow New Orleanian Trombone Shorty on his Summer 2022 Threauxdown Tour. Their Epic Vibes Tour runs from December 2021 through April 2023, with shows on the West Coast, the Northeast, a monthly residency in Memphis and a healthy amount of shows in New Orleans.
The brass band continue to ride high off the release of their latest album Poetry In Motion. The eight-member collective appeared on Def Jam artist Dave East and Nas’ “Godfather 4” single, Big Freedia and Icona Pop’s “Pipe That”, and reached fans with original singles “Greatness” which was featured as ESPN’s official College Hoops theme anthem, and “Good Time” featured on Netflix’s #BlackAF and Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!
The Soul Rebels have impressed viewers with two recent appearances on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk series with Wu Tang Clan frontman GZA, headlined the global TED Conference, and appeared on the official soundtrack for Universal Pictures’ hit comedy Girls Trip.
Soul Rebels Epic Vibes 2022 Tour
12/17 Memphis, TN RAILGARTEN 12/22 New Orleans HOUSE OF BLUES 12/31 New Orleans MAISON 1/14 Memphis, TN RAILGARTEN 1/15 Baton Rouge, LA CHELSEA’S 1/22 New Orleans BLUE NILE 2/11 New Orleans DBA 2/16 San Diego, CA MUSIC BOX 2/17 Los Angeles, CA TERAGRAM BALLROOM 2/18 San Francisco, CA THE INDEPENDENT 2/19 Oakland, CA THE NEW PARISH 2/20 Felton, CA FELTON MUSIC HALL 2/23 Seattle, WA NECTAR LOUNGE 2/24 Olympia, WA CAPITOL THEATER 2/25 Portland, OR PDX JAZZ FESTIVAL 2/26 Bellingham, WA WILD BUFFALO 2/27 Victoria, BC UPSTAIRS CABARET 3/24 Waterloo, NY THE VINE @ DELLAGO CASINO RESORT 3/25 Philadelphia, PA BROOKLYN BOWL 3/26 Washington, DC 930 CLUB 3/27 Pittsburg, PA THUNDERBIRD CAFE 3/29 Buffalo, NY BUFFALO IRON WORKS 3/30 Albany, NY LARK HALL 3/31 Boston, MA BIG NIGHT LIVE *w/ GZA & Talib Kweli 4/1 NYC BROOKLYN BOWL 4/2 NYC BROOKLYN BOWL 4/3 Millersville, PA PHANTOM POWER 4/6 Bridgeport, CT PARK CITY MUSIC HALL 4/7 Fall River, MA NARROWS CENTER FOR THE ARTS 4/8 Greenfield, MA HAWKS AND REED 4/9 Westhampton Beach, NY WESTHAMPTON BEACH PAC 4/10 Ventura, CA SKULL & BONES 4/23 New Orleans DBA
Ahh, the morning social media tune-in (sigh). It’s increasingly filled with the kind of news you really don’t want to hear and certainly can’t use. On Monday, December 21, it was teeming with word that the NYC music and arts scene had lost one of its boldest and most congenial promoters, Steven Paul Trimboli, on the night before Thanksgiving due to a massive stroke.
New York actually lost Steve Trimboli a few years back when he decamped from high rents NYC for Detroit with the 2014 closing of his beloved Goodbye Blue Monday. Opened in 2005, Goodbye Blue Monday was one of the first clubs established in Bushwick with the gentrification of the Lower East Side. The West Village was where Trimboli ran another popular institution, the metal music-centric Scrap Bar from 1986 – 1995. All totaled, Trimboli spent over 40+years in the scene, as club owner, booker, bartender and ceaseless creative pot stirrer.
According to an article by former Observer culture writer Drew Grant, Trimboli’s Scrap Bar was “the place where punk went to die and hair metal held the wake.” It was the metal sculpture-adorned venue, a dive bar as done by H.R. Giger of Alien film fame, where MTV held some of its most raucous Christmas parties during the hair band era. It was where Johnny Thunder would go on the nod and Slash would be “serviced” under the table by porn star Savannah.
To avoid noise issues, Trimboli created one of the weirdest sound systems I ever encountered in my life as a musician. Guitars, bass, keys, vocals, etc. would all essentially be plugged into a giant stereo, including the drummers, who had to bash away on electronic kits (not always happily). This was all feed into a seemingly endless array of tiny speakers placed throughout the Goth-like venue. Bands not only got to play, but to walk away with a video of their performance provided on VHS by Trimboli’s sound guy for a few bucks. It had a liberal booking policy, mostly metal in its early days. But it woud later evolve into nightly lineups showcasing emerging indie, folk, punk, poets and even no wave-ish and experimental jazzbos.
Trimboli himself departed Manhattan for Bushwick in 1999, and spent the next five years trying to get his newest venture off the ground.
Situated under the elevated J Subway line on a seriously darkened stretch of Broadway, Goodbye Blue Monday was another wholly unique institution. It matched the carnivalesque vibe of a junk shop with a dive bar/performance venue. There was never a cover and a booking policy that would grant pretty much anyone a bit of stage time – from musicians to comics, from poets to mimes. The stubbornly seedy joint seemed to cook 365 days a year and helped launch the careers of notables like Vampire Weekend and events like the quirky songwriting conclave, The Bushwick Book Club.
“Goodbye Blue Monday was an old-school Brooklyn radical art hole both epic and legendary,” remembers Radio Free Brooklyn host Robert Prichard. “GBM was something very rare and very precious; it was a real creative community. It was the kind of place that brought smiles to faces and inspiration into hearts. The world seems a lot smaller today without Steve (Trimboli) in it.”
“When you’re trying to find yourself creatively, there is nothing more helpful than having a space to do it,” writes Christopher Mastumoto, MC C.B on Facebook. “A space free of judgments where you can just go up on stage and see what sticks. Something that nowadays is very, very scarce.
“Steven helped me get to that stage when I needed it the most.” Adds Mastumoto. “He was upfront and honest and gave unlimited opportunities to any person looking to be creative. His venues never held you to a cover or any of that bullshit “you need to bring 15 people at $10 a pop” – a scam many promoters still do. It was something a young kid like me, and so many others, needed to begin to make their mark.”
For more on the life of Steve Trimboli, read Drew Grant’s Observer article.
Carnegie Hall will host two legends in 2022, each celebrating their own milestone from the Perelman Stage in the Stern Auditorium. On April 22, Jorma Kaukonen will celebrate his 80th trip around the sun with an electric performance by Hot Tuna, and on May 10, double-bass jazz legend Ron Carter will be fêted for his 85th birthday celebration.
filled with music and memories at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. NBC newscaster Lester Holt will serve as emcee, with appearances from fellow artists Stanley Clarke and Buster Williams already confirmed, and additional guests to be announced in the coming weeks.
For Kaukonen’s celebration, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member will join his fellow bandmates, bass guitarist Jack Casady and drummer Justin Guip for an electric evening. Casady and Kaukonen, two rock veterans and founding members of Jefferson Airplane, have been performing together as Hot Tuna since 1969, marking their 50th anniversary together as a duo in 2019.
Ron Carter, has been called by NPR as “one of the most influential and widely recorded bassists in jazz history,” and The New York Times who said “Playing with Mr. Carter can be a fearsome experience. Legendary for his professionalism and his rigorousness, he challenges musicians to stretch and improvise, not just piece together rehearsed ideas and phrases.”
Presented by Tzedakah 4 All, the event will feature performances by Carter-led groups in three combinations – Trio, Quartet, and Nonet – exploring material from his illustrious six decade career. NBC newscaster Lester Holt will serve as emcee, with appearances from fellow artists Stanley Clarke and Buster Williams already confirmed, and additional guests to be announced in the coming weeks.
Carter, synonymous with jazz bass, has performed and collaborated with a who’s who of music history, including Miles Davis, Alice Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Herbie Hancock, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Bette Midler, Gil Scott-Heron, A Tribe Called Quest, Wayne Shorter, Paul Simon, McCoy Tyner, Aretha Franklin, Stan Getz, Roberta Flack, Bill Evans, Chet Baker, and dozens more. Carter is also a distinguished professor emeritus at City College and a faculty member at the Manhattan School of Music.
Tickets for Hot Tuna at Carnegie Hall on the 80th birthday of Jorma Kaukonen, and tickets for the 85th birthday celebration of Ron Carter, are now on sale here.
The city of Plattsburgh, New York has an Icelandic glow on the shores of Lake Champlain. The Strand Center for the Arts in town hosted Leo Kottke & Mike Gordon’s tour closing show on Sunday December 19. Just across the Lake is Mike Gordon’s Gamehendge in the city of Burlington. It seemed as if it was his first time performing in Plattsburgh since Phish’s infamous Clifford Ball festival that drew 60,000 to Clinton County in 1996. However, Gordon was making the trip to Plattsburgh well before 1996.
Photo by Kyle Donoghue
SUNY Plattsburgh alumnus and saxophonist Dave Grippo was voyaging from Burlington to Plattsburgh in the early 90s. Like Nectar’s across the lake, Plattsburgh has The Monopole around the corner from the Strand since the 1800’s. Owner of The Monopole, Cory Rosoff, remembers Mike playing in random band formations with Dave Grippo in Plattsburgh over the years. “I used to actually have his bands come in and play Homecoming Weekend being that he was alumni. He just played sax on a lot of their (Phish) albums.”
Mike Gordon on Drums, Monopole, Plattsburgh
The quiet majesty of the Strand Center allowed for great stories in between songs. Samuel Johnson kept the audio levels just right inside the old 1924 vaudeville room. Leo Kottke spoke on the origins of his 20 year relationship with Mike Gordon to the Plattsburgh crowd. He reflected about their first jam session at Trey’s barn in Burlington across the lake. It wasn’t until the last riff of the day that a groove was caught between the two and a blaze from one tiny spark was lit. Gordon reflected on how he sent Leo a tape of him adding bass to one of his tracks.
Photo by Kyle Donoghue
After three months with no reply, Kottke responded to Gordon that a lot of people send him what he did over the years and that it usually comes off “cheesy.” However there was something different about this tape and it helped lead them to that first jam session in Burlington.
photo by Kyle Donoghue
Pete Seeger once referred to Leo Kottke as the greatest 12 string guitar player in the world. The duo covered Pete Seegers “Living in the Country”, that made its notoriety live at New York City’s Bitter End club album. Freight train, freight train goin’ so fast, Please don’t tell them which train I’m on, So they won’t know which route I’ve gone. Leo and Mike played material from all three of their studio albums.
Leo gave the historical origins of their record Sixty Six Steps which naturally is named after the Queens Staircase in the Bahamas that is 66 steps high. Mike stepped out front solo again for Hank Williams “Old Habits.” He also offered a tour debut on its last night by collaborating with Leo on his original “I am Random,” of which the studio version features Jon Fishman on drums.
photo by Kyle Donoghue
The duo continued the tour’s tradition by playing through the encore so that we could all exit The Strand Center for the Arts at the same time. They landed on “From the Cradle to the Grave” from their most recent album Noon, singing, “Running for my life at every moment never have time to catch my breath, sometime I wish this crazy race were over, the thought of living scares me half to death. Everyday is the same… same old ways never change and were going to the cradle from the grave.”
Ever since übermanager Albert Grossman and his top client Bob Dylan moved up to Woodstock in the Sixties, the Hudson Valley has been a hot bed of popular music-making. It’s been the longtime residence of many of the best-known names in rock, folk and jazz and the site of a multitude of legendary recording studios where they waxed their classic albums. It’s also been home to an ever-changing array of clubs and tiny bars where the stars who call the area home can be found sharing their world class talent with intimate audiences.
Since 2015, Rita Ryan has been passionately profiling this ever-evolving scene on LocalMotion, a weekly two-hour, free-form broadcast on Vassar’s non-commercial radio station, WVKR, 91.3 FM.
Unlike some area shows that claim to be dedicated to “homegrown” talent (but are too often peppered with musicians from Austin, Nashville, Brooklyn and more in my listening!), Rita has kept her focus 100% local.
The second hour of her weekly Wednesday broadcast traditionally features interviews with many of extraordinary music-makers who call the Hudson Valley their home. Her guests have included Lovin’ Spoonful songsmith John Sebastian, jazz great Jack DeJohnette, dobro master Cindy Cashdollar, roots music maven Amy Helm, bass masters Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel) and Gail Ann Dorsey (David Bowie) and Stevie Wonder producer/electronic music pioneer the late Malcolm Cecil, to name just a few. Rita also interviews stars who swing through so frequently for performances that they seem like locals, like the six-time interviewed Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna guitarist Jorma Kaukonen.
Ryan has also explored the local scene in interviews with club owners like Neil Howard of Colony Woodstock, Lizzie Vann of The Bearsville Theater and the late Tony Falco of Live at the Falcon. She’s also talked with music producers/recording engineers like Jerry Marotta of Dreamland Studios, David Baron (The Lumineers, Lenny Kravitz) and Scott Petito (The Band, The Fugs, Mercury Rev). And every week, she clues her audience in on the best live music coming to area venues, shows that she will often be frequenting herself.
The first hour of LocalMotion is dedicated to spinning a truly diverse selection of new sounds from local musicians. Her playlist spans rock, blues, folk, Americana, rockabilly, jazz and even the occasional electronic and experimental offering.
Earlier this month, Rita celebrated her 300th episode with a return interview with her first guests, Larry Campbell and his partner Teresa Williams. Here is a look at the past and what’s ahead for Rita and LocalMotion.
Sal Cataldi: To begin, what is your connection to the Hudson Valley?
Rita Ryan: I consider myself a native to the area. I moved to Tivoli in Dutchess County in 1972 while in elementary school. I was born in Long Island and then my family moved to Germany, where I went to school through 2nd grade. My mom was from Germany as are most of my entire family, and for the exception of one cousin, they all still live there.
My interest in music started with my mother. There was always music on in the house. She listened to classical and German music and I remember Engelbert Humperdinck, Frank Sinatra, Glen Campbell and others being played on either albums or cassettes. As a young teenager, I would spend my weekly allowance by going to Caldor in Kingston on a Friday night to buy vinyl or a book. The first album I bought was Tapestry by Carole King.
SC: How did you connect with WVKR?
RR: I began working at a commercial radio station in 2010 doing advertising sales. I had no intention or ever thought of being on air. At one point, the station where I was working was holding a contest. We planned on doing a one-hour live broadcast at a remote store location to announce the winner. No DJ was available to go do the broadcast, so the owner of the station suggested I go do this live remote! I laughed at him saying, other than voicing commercials, I have never been on air! He told me to go try it anyway, So I did. My client, the store where the live broadcast was to be at, also encouraged me. So, there I was (laughs). My first broadcast was a live one, for one hour. I immediately felt very comfortable being on air. It just felt natural. Of course, I was nervous at first, but not for more than a few minutes. It really was easy and fun!
Not long after, the station where I was working offered me a show, while I also held down my sales job. I took them up on the offer and was able to pre-record my shows. For a while, I was the weeknight evening show host. Soon, that became too much for me with my regular job so I hosted a show on Saturday afternoons. I did this for several years before I left that job.
When I left, I knew I was going to miss hosting a radio show. A few months into a new job, an acquaintance called me and said he missed hearing me on air. He asked if I ever heard of WVKR and that I should try contacting them. I thought about it for a few days and decided to make the call – I mean I had nothing to lose, right? I called WVKR in June 2015 and the General Manager called me back immediately. I had given him my background and my idea of starting a show focused on music in the area, the local scene. I wanted to start hosting interviews with musicians that live here and those coming to the area to perform in our venues. They said they were actually looking for someone to host such as show, so the rest is history (laughs).
SC: What is the format of LocalMotion and how has it changed over the years?
RR: The greatest aspect of WVKR is that it’s a college radio station, at Vassar College, so it’s completely free-form, like in the good old days. It’s run by a Student Executive Board that has help from Vassar’s staff. It’s a non-commercial station. No advertising. So, all DJ’s format their own shows to their liking.
At first, in 2015, it began as a one-hour show. It pretty quickly moved into a weekly two-hour block, Wednesdays, from 4 – 6 pm. The format really hasn’t changed since the show began.
I always spend one of the hours hosting an interview and the second hour promoting musicians who will be playing in the area and new releases from local musicians. I also host a segment called “Musical Happenings” where I give info from venues as to who will be playing there. I’m a huge supporter of the local live music scene. I typically go out at least once per week to enjoy live music, if not more.
SC: Unlike some radio shows in the Hudson Valley that claim to be local, yours truly is, 100% in my opinion. It seems to be all about musicians who live in their area or the big names who pass through regularly, like Jorma Kaukonen, who almost seem like locals. Is it a hard to promise to always deliver a full slate of local music?
RR: It’s not hard at all to keep my show truly local because we have such an incredible and diverse scene of music in the area. There’s always someone coming to perform at an area venue to interview and many of those live right in the area. I do interview national and internationally renowned musicians but only because/when they perform in our area. There’s never a shortage. I typically book my guests 6 to 8 weeks in advance!
SC: So, what are some of your favorite venues in the area, old and new?
RR: I don’t think it would be fair of me to say what my favorite area venues are as there are so many! I say to people, go support music at all local venues and see which you like best and keep going to support the music!
SC: How has the Hudson Valley music scene evolved over the years and where is it headed?
RR: Well, it’s definitely evolved over the decades and, I believe, we’re in a time now when it is truly exploding in the area. For example, look at Woodstock. The newly renovated and restored Bearsville Theatre is back in full swing, Levon Helm Studios (home of the legendary Midnight Ramble shows), The Colony (also renovated and restored), Station Bar, Pearl Moon and the Woodstock Playhouse are all top-notch live music spots. We’re also in an area where there are world class recording studios which brings many musicians here from all around the globe.
I believe the music and arts scene will continue to grow in this area. We are incredibly lucky to live not just in a visually beautiful area, but also an area filled with culture of every stripe.
SC: Now that you’ve celebrated your 300th show, can you let us know who some of your favorite guests has been?
RR: This is another question that’s difficult to answer about favorite guests because there are really too many to say. I typically respond to that question by saying it’s the last guest I had on the show (laughs)!
Since 2015, I’ve hosted over 290 interviews as most every episode has a guest. I was most nervous for my first ever interview. I remember it like it was yesterday. I began the show in July 2015. I remember when I first conceptualized the show and sharing my idea with Larry Campbell at shows when I’d see him perform. He would say to me: “Rita, when you get that show, let me know. I’ll be happy to be your first guest.” Well, I got the show and Larry held true to his word. My first guests on LocalMotion on 91.3 WVKR were Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams. I prepared for over 5 hours for my first interview. I was so nervous but it went so well.
Since LocalMotion airs live, so I don’t have the luxury of edits. The next time I saw Larry in person after our interview, he told me it was one of the best radio interviews he’s ever done in his career. That to me was the highest honor I could be given.
I haven’t been too nervous interviewing since my first show. I get excited with anticipation for each and every guest. I do lots of “homework” to prepare for my interviews and I absolutely have the time of my life doing them.
SC: As a listener, I know you give every genre of music a spin, from folk and Americana through to jazz and experimental. So, do you have any personal favorites on the new local talent front?
RR: I dislike giving out my favorites, just like I don’t do a “Top 10” end of year album release list any longer. I mean, after all, who am I to say! My favorites are just that, my favorites. Doesn’t mean anyone else would agree. I do play music I’m not particularly fond of, that isn’t really to my taste sometimes, because I only think it’s fair to promote all worthy musicians in the area.
SC: Anyone who follows you on social media knows, your daughter is quite a serious musician. Tell us a little about her?
RR: Well, here I could go on and on! My daughter Caroline recently turned 21. I began introducing her to the arts when she was maybe 4 years old. Her first live theatre event was The Nutcracker at Bardavon Theatre in Poughkeepsie. We would go annually while she was young. Shortly thereafter, I took her to NYC and we began seeing Broadway shows.
She began playing violin in 4th grade. We rented her a violin because we weren’t sure how long she’d stick with the instrument. She stayed with it for one year then began playing cello. But she didn’t like playing the cello as much as the violin, so she went back to her violin. We gave her private lessons immediately and she just loved her teacher. We also learned of an organization in Dutchess County called “Stringendo.” It was an orchestra school for students from 1st through 12th grade that met each Saturday during the school year. You had to audition to get in. There were numerous levels in the school and Caroline began in “Prelude.” She stayed in that school for 8 years throughout high school. This school was invaluable to her. She would not be the musician she is today without having those years in that school. Also, her private lesson violin teacher, Kate Rymph, who taught her first lesson until she graduated high school was instrumental in transforming Caroline into the musician she is today.
She will be graduating Ithaca College in December 2022 with a degree in Music Performance, a degree in Economics and a minor in Art History. She recently performed her Senior Recital and it was inspiring to see how far she’s come as a violinist. I could not possibly be prouder of my daughter. Not because of her talent as a musician, but because of the woman she’s become. I’m an incredibly lucky woman to be her mom. It’s the honor of my lifetime.
SC: Any local musicians you still want to interview but haven’t?
RR: Funny you should ask that! It just recently happened that I did interview two musicians who I’ve been wanting to interview the past 6 years! I had the great honor of interviewing John Sebastian and Jack DeJohnette. They had both been on my list and what an honor for me to have had the opportunity to talk with both of them. Both American icons.
I’m looking forward to continuing LocalMotion. It’s a lot of work but when you’re passionate about something it’s worth it. It’s a true honor to be hosting this weekly show. I look forward to seeing the show grow further and keeping up with all the incredible new music that’s coming out. Please support live music – especially local live music!
SC: How can people listen to LocalMotion?
RR: Several ways! The old-fashioned way if you’re in the area on the radio dial at 91.3 FM, also online at wvkr.org or on the app TuneInRadio under WVKR. I also record and upload each interview on my YouTube channel. Please consider subscribing to the channel at “LocalMotion on 91.3 WVKR hosted by Rita Ryan.” All interviews are also uploaded as a podcast which you can listen to on several streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, etc. You can even keep track on my Facebook page which features links to interviews, videos I shoot at local concerts and more.
Award-winning bluegrass band The Wooks embark on a tour in Spring 2022, bringing their traditional and unconventional form of bluegrass with them to New York. They’ll make stops at Funk n Waffles in downtown Syracuse, and the Jalopy Theater in Brooklyn this coming April.
The Wooks have established a distinctive sound through original songwriting, exceptional musicianship, and outside influences ranging from jam bands to Southern rock. Their third album, Flyin’ High, due out in February 2022, offers a refreshed lineup of the group, even though its members have been crossing paths with each other at music festivals for years.
Band member CJ Cain (guitar, vocals) started the duo in 2014 in Kentucky, with a lineup that now includes Harry Clark (mandolin, vocals), George Guthrie (banjo, vocals) and Allen Cooke (dobro), with the latter three musicians based in Nashville. Various bass players stay in rotation on the road, filling out the ensemble’s driving sound.
Love songs that stand-the-test-of-time tend to come from unlikely origin stories, and until The Wooks’ founder CJ Cain wrote the song “Flyin’ High,” not one of them has been inspired by the crash landing of a buddy’s World War I bi-plane. The resulting tune is a story of two different couples, real folks from the small town of West Liberty, Kentucky, where Cain’s father grew up, that falls somewhere perfectly between the sound of The Band, Van Morrison, and The Wooks’ ever-evolving signature style.
He had bought this plane at a good price and would soon find out why. He lost oil pressure and had to take her down in front of his family who had gathered in the yard to watch him buzz the farm. Luckily he made it out.
CJ Cain
Rather than repeating the formal studio experiences for past albums, The Wook recorded Flyin’ High over two sessions in Nashville in the home studio of bluegrass guitarist Jake Stargel. As a producer, he brought an easygoing vibe as well as acoustic expertise to the project, which is the band’s first full-length album since the fall of 2018. After Tony Rice’s death in December 2020, Cain wanted to honor his legacy in some way, so he cold-called Bill Wolf to see if he would master the album. Wolf wrote back, asking to hear it – and then elevated Flyin’ High to the next level.
While their origin stories are diverse, all four members of The Wooks have forged a common bond that honors individuality and innovation. But with minimal shows to road-test the material on Flyin’ High, Cooke speaks for the band when he says he’s eager for fans to discover these new songs—on the album as well as the stage. “This band is definitely not a band that is set on keeping things to the way they sounded on the record,” he says. “We’re all about keeping these songs fresh and new-sounding as shows go on.
The Wooks are ambassadors for Can’d Aid, a nationally recognized nonprofit that rallies volunteers from all walks of life to build thriving communities; through their work with Can’d Aid, they’ve performed and donated instruments to schools and underserved youth.
The Wooks 2022 Tour Dates
2/24 – Louisville, KY – Zanzabar 2/25 – Huntington, WV – The Loud 2/26 – Lexington, KY – The Burl 3/1 – Atlanta, GA – Eddie’s Attic 3/2 – Birmingham, AL – The Nick 3/4 – Asheville, NC – Isis Music Hall 3/5 – Nashville, TN – Station Inn 3/9 – Awendaw, SC – Awendaw Green 3/10 – Raleigh, NC – Pour House 3/12 – Roanoke, VA – Martin’s St Patty’s Street Fair 3/13 – Richmond, VA – The Camel 3/16 – Charlottesville, VA – The Southern 3/17 – Washington DC – Pearl Street Warehouse 3/18 – Farmville, VA – North Street Press Club 3/19 – Round Hill, VA – B Chord Brewing 3/30 – Ferndale, MI – Otus Supply 4/1 – Newport, KY – Southgate Revival House 4/2 – Morgantown, WV – 123 Pleasant 4/5 – Syracuse, NY – Funk n Waffles 4/7 – New Haven, CT – Cafe Nine 4/8 – Boston, MA – The Burren 4/9 – New York, NY – Jalopy Theater 4/10 – Asbury Park, NJ – The Saint 4/13 – Philadelphia, PA – City Winery 4/14 – Lancaster, PA – Zoetropolis 4/15 – Grove City, PA – Big Rail Brewing 4/16 – Thomas, WV – The Purple Fiddle
