Noel Paul Stookey today releases a 15-song compilation paired with non-profit beneficiaries in the spirit of giving back, with each track bearing a theme of social concern.
Album art for “Just Causes”
The “Paul” in Peter, Paul & Mary, the seminal 1960s act, will be donating to a different cause for each track on the compilation. Curated and remixed by John Stuart, the compilation focuses on social issues. Stookey spoke on the project after taking part in over 50 albums:
Every songwriter eventually realizes that his art is meant for service: to entertain, inform and in a best-case scenario, to inspire.
As I look over the fifty plus years that I’ve attempted to capture ‘lightening in a bottle’ – a moment realized in a song that transcends time – I recognize that some musical creations seem to have a longer life because they address issues that still challenge us, no matter the generation.
The idea for a compilation that donates 100% of its proceeds to charity struck Stookey at a strange time. “I was literally picking up groceries at our local store when I noticed for the umpteenth time that Paul Newman’s brand of products from his Newman’s Own company advertise on the packaging that ‘100% of profits go to charity,’” he explains. “I thought what a great concept and what the term ‘profits’ means in my life. I’ve been very fortunate in my musical pursuits, and the idea of ‘giving back’ at this point in my life and career struck a chord with me.”
Some issues discussed in the songs on “Just Causes” include hunger, reproductive rights, immigration, missing children, safe energy, drug addiction and the environment. The songs strive for justice for all. One song, “Danny’s Downs” tells a moving story about a family who welcomes a son with Downs Syndrome. The song’s profits will be donated to the National Down Syndrome Congress.
“Just Causes” is Noel Paul Stookey’s first release since 2018, and will be available on March 22nd, 2020. you can find more information noelpaulstookey.com.
Forward People. It can mean a direction, or it can describe a group of people. With room for interpretation built into the title, Trey Anastasio shared his latest pandemic production, “Forward People,” on March 18. The release coincides with his first pandemic release on March 18, 2020, “Lost in the Pack.”
With a full Ghosts of the Forest vibe, Anastasio utilizes the Rescue Squad Strings, as well as a horn section, creating a full sound that is reminiscent of GOTF’s “Drift While You’re Sleeping.” For more than 14 minutes, horns and strings accent Anastasio’s uplifting and emotional surprise release.
The opening lyrics to the ballad have a positive, uplifting vibe, something that has been Anastasio’s trademark in the past decade – “Light,” “More,” “Everything’s Right,” “The Greater Good,” “A Wave of Hope” – among others.
We are one, you are not alone, all things are connected, and we are reaping what we’ve sown. But even out there on your own, We cannot be divided, You are not alone, You’re never really alone.
“Forward People” lyrics – Trey Anastasio
The song continues to touch on themes of self-reliance, hope and perseverance, Anastasio sings “Sway in the light… an invisible hand is conducting the melody. We think that we are composing, but the music is pointing beyond me now,” a broader universal theme that has been seen in his pandemic recordings.
One of the most restless musicians during the pandemic, Anastasio had recently spoken with WCAX, hinting at Phish’s plans for this year, and if something was in the works. Trey slyly said “I’ve got a secret.” It’s safe to say Anastasio has more than one secret, with a composition like this up his sleeve and the potential for a return to the stage, with audiences, possible as soon as the fall.
On March 18, 2019, Fleetwood Mac played the second of two sold out shows at Madison Square Garden supporting their “An Evening With Fleetwood Mac” tour. The lineup consisted of Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Mike Campbell and Neil Finn.
Originally the tour was referred to as the “Farewell Tour” with plans of having the Rumours lineup including Lindsey Buckingham, but a few weeks prior to the start of the tour, the band had announced their separation with Buckingham.
The reason for the separation was reportedly due to disagreements about the tour. In a Rolling Stone interview, Buckingham later revealed that the real reasons he was fired was that Nicks took issue with the fact that he “smirked” during her thank you speech at the Musicares person of the year event, and also the way that Buckingham reacted to being introduced with Nick’s “Rhiannon.” Vocalist/guitarist Neil Finn and guitarist Mike Campbell joined the band shortly after Buckingham’s departure.
Despite Buckingham not being present, the show was still fantastic. The band opened the show with three huge hits, “The Chain,” “Little Lies” and “Dreams.” Their set also included more hits like “Say You Love Me,” “Rhiannon,” “Gypsy” and “Go Your Own Way.” Each of the new members also had a chance to shine with Neil playing Crowded House’s “Don’t Dream It’s Over” and a cover of Tom Petty’s “Free Falling” as images of Tom and Stevie were projected on the screen behind them. Another highlight was when they played “Black Magic Woman” which was written by original member Peter Green before Santana turned it into a huge hit.
In a 2020 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Nicks said she hasn’t spoken to Buckingham since his departure, but she did write him a note after he suffered from a heart attack in February of 2019. On March 27, 2021, there will be an All Star Tribute to Peter Green available on demand that was recorded at the London Palladium on February 25, 2020, just days before the global shut down due to COVID-19. A live album of the concert will also be released on April 30, 2021.
Setlist: The Chain, Little Lies, Dreams, Second Hand News, Say You Love Me, Black Magic Woman, Everywhere, Rhiannon, World Turning, Gypsy, Oh Well, Don’t Dream It’s Over, Landslide, Hold Me, Monday Morning, You Make Loving Fun, Gold Dust Woman, Go Your Own Way
Love, New York, a virtual concert fundraiser will take place on the one year anniversary of New York City declaring a shelter in place for the COVID-19 pandemic. Featured musicians include Rich Medina, Paris Monster, and James Casey. It will stream live on March 20th, 2020 at 7 PM EST.
A year later, the end of pandemic is far closer, yet music still needs relief and artistic outlet. Love, New York is comprised of creatives, visionaries, musicians, street performers, dancers, Broadway artists, and lovers from New York.
The festival is organized by Sound Mind Collective, a Brooklyn based community organization founded in 2017 by Katherine Powell (KP Artist Management), Chris St. Hilaire (musician, The London Souls, Sinkane, Doyle Bramhall II) and Nikhil P. Yerawadekar (musician, Nikhil P. Yerawadekar & Low Mentality). Sound Mind Collective’s goal is to connect independent artists with local communities to encourage growth through social justice advocacy, policy change, and much more.
The proceeds from Love, New York will be allocated amongst the performers and independent music venues that are at risk of closing indefinitely as the virus continues to keep doors closed.
Few buildings have as storied a relationship with the Grateful Dead that Madison Square Garden does. The World’s Most Famous Arena quickly became the band’s “home” arena on the East Coast beginning with their first run here in January of 1979. Their welcomed stay would last until their final shows played there in 1994. Today, we celebrate the anniversary of the Grateful Dead’s third run at the Garden and only their sixth show ever here. This would be the first of only two Dead shows here this year. But its musical impact, thanks to an incredibly well preserved AUD recording, will last forever.
The opening tones of “Feel Like A Stranger” ring throughout the Garden to kickstart things this evening. The electricity immediately comes through the pristine recording on this one as the bands “get’s on with the show.” Guitarist Bob Weir’s voice is in fine form for the opener and throughout the rest of this show. Some typical brief, scat-like improv singing from him gives way to a short but tight little opening number. “Althea” then follows, with fellow guitarist Jerry Garcia getting his turn to serenade the New York faithful. A fierce early guitar lick sets just the right tone early as Garcia nimbly moves from singing to soloing and then back.
This is followed by a super-bluesy “C.C. Rider” that’s fueled by some great interplay between Garcia, Weir and Mydland on keys. A raucous Garden crowd makes their feelings well known afterwards. An extended tuning break might disrupt the rhythm for any other concert, but it’s not long before the arena is back in full sway and singing along with Garcia to “Ramble On Rose.” As expected, the “Just like New York City” line is met with resounding approval. Weir seems to begin “El Paso” by himself at first, but the band soon catches up and nails the rest of this first set staple. This one sees more impressively delicate guitar fills thrown in by Garcia who sounds clean and inspired from the onset this evening.
A return to the blues then follows, this one of the “Deep Elem” variety. After being taken off the shelf late last year in October, the vocal sections still sound a little unsure on the Dead’s take of this blues standard but the continual passionate guitar stylings from Garcia more than makes up for it. There’s nothing unsure about Weir’s vocal delivery on “Beat It On Down The Line” as the band rips through another first set staple.
Jerry’s vocals seem to run out of steam somewhat in the “Bird Song” that comes next. But the initial lackluster vocal section quickly gives way to some dazzling improv in the jam that follows with Garcia’s guitar leading the way. This seems to infuse some life into the band and the song’s dismount is much cleaner. Weir then re-assumes command and “New Minglewood Blues” closes out a rollicking opening stanza. Whether it was planned or not, the two guitarists wind up going tit-for-tat and alternate lead vocal duties between each song in the opening set.
But like any Dead show, the real “meat and potatoes” of the show are generally found in the second set. Tonight’s show at the Garden would be no different. After some clearly audible teases while tuning, the band takes their sweet time before launching into a majestic set-opening “China Cat Sunflower.” Garcia’s meandering guitar solos play perfectly atop a bed of fresh bass rhythms supplied by Phil Lesh. The slowly building jam eventually makes its seamless transition into “I Know You Rider” where both Weir and Garcia throw a little extra mustard on their respective parts. The second “China Cat” > “Rider” sequence ever played at MSG is certainly one to behold.
Out of the ashes of this blistering start comes “Samson and Delilah” with drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart wasting no time at all before launching into the percussive into. The accompanying jam is played at a near-frenetic pace that seems to have carried right over from the start of the set. Things finally cool down for a bit with “Ship Of Fools” that Garcia ably leads the group through with no issues. Even a slower number like this one seems to have the Grateful Dead Garden crowd enraptured.
Things perk back up in a big way in the second set with the two heavy hitters that follow. “Estimated Prophet” sees a fired up Weir complemented beautifully by Mydland and the signature tone of his electric keys on this number. A typically patient and slow-building jam then ensues with Jerry soon beginning to take the helm musically. When this reaches its conclusion, he switches tones and starts the opening chords to “Uncle John’s Band.” The Garden is again enthralled by these proceedings, with many clapping along in time.
Towards the end of the second’s set traditional “Drums” > “Space” section, some familiar chording can be heard. And before long, Lesh’s bellowing bass roars once again, signaling the high-intensity start of “The Other One.” The rest of the band follows Weir’s lead on vocals with this passionate take on a classic Dead number.
After this powerful, but fairly short “Other One,” begins to peter out, Garcia slows things down once more and the beginning of “Stella Blue” ensues. A large crowd that was in full rock mode, clapping along wildly just more than an hour ago, is now in near total silence listening to Jerry’s deliberate and soulful vocals – a testament to the emotional power of a Grateful Dead Garden show.
It sounds like Jerry wants to revisit and possibly finish “Uncle John’s Band” at the end of “Blue,” but they instead shift towards a “Good Lovin’” closer, the second set’s only cover song. The Garden crowd, once more, shows their love and appreciation afterwards before a “U.S. Blues” finishes things out, a proper call after so much blues-inspired songs and playing this evening. The Dead would go on to play one more show at MSG the following night. And thanks to the impeccable recording by Barry Glassberg below, we’ll be able to enjoy this one forever.
Grateful Dead – Madison Square Garden – New York City, NY 3/9/81
Set 1: Feel Like A Stranger, Althea-> CC Rider, Ramble On Rose-> El Paso, Deep Elem Blues, Beat It On Down The Line, Bird Song, Minglewood Blues
Set 2: China Cat Sunflower-> I Know You Rider-> Samson & Delilah, Ship of Fools, Estimated Prophet-> Uncle John’s Band-> Drums-> The Other One-> Stella Blue-> Good Lovin’,
In February of 2014, Paul Simon and Sting began their ‘On Stage Together’ Tour in Houston, TX. The tour traveled across North America, Oceania, and Europe before concluding in Amsterdam in 2015. I was lucky enough to catch one of the shows on my birthday, March 4, 2014, at Madison Square Garden. That made this night even more special than it was already set out to be. The accompanying band was comprised of members of both Simon and Sting’s bands respectively.
“Welcome to our little experiment” Simon said to the crowd early on. After performing the first few songs together, the duo took turns alternating throughout the night, but still sprinkled in a few more songs together before they both took the stage once again for the encore. After the opening duets, Simon left the stage and Sting began his Police heavy solo block with “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”, Englishman In New York”, “I Hung My Head and “Driven To Tears”. He ended his first set with “Walking on the Moon” which transitioned nicely into Simon’s “Mother and Child Reunion”. After that, Sting left the stage and Simon began his first solo set with “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”. The rest of his set were all hits from his solo career like “Graceland”, “Still Crazy After All These Years” and “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard.”
Before Paul left the stage again, they both did a magnificent cover of Sting’s “Fragile” from his Nothing Like the Sun album. Sting started his next set with a stripped down cover of Simon’s “America”. “Paul has been my mentor and teacher for many, many years” Sting told the audience. He then explained that the song reminded him of when he first came to America. Him, Stewart and Andy rented a station wagon in New York and drove across the country playing in dives and staying in shitty hotels. He said “Even though this song was written a decade before, it still reminds me of that time”. He then continued his set with some more Police classics like “Message in a Bottle” and “Roxanne” along with more solo hits like “They Dance Alone” and “Desert Rose.”
Another highlight of the night is when Simon appeared back on stage and helped end Sting’s set with another duet cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Boxer”. The two sounded amazing as they harmonized on the song that was recorded over 40 years earlier.
For his next set, Paul dusted off the title track to his 1983 album Hearts and Bones as well as his 1991’s percussion driven “The Obvious Child”. I love this song but for some reason it is not a crowd favorite. But, needless to say he quickly reengaged the sold out crowd at The Garden with what is probably his most popular solo song “You Can Call Me Al” to end his final solo set.
The encore began with “Bridge Over Troubled Water” with Sting nailing the high notes on the first verse. Paul sang the second verse before transitioning right into “Every Breath You Take” as well as a vibrant version of “Late in the Evening”.
At this time the band walked off the stage and it appeared the show was about to end, but Simon and Sting then both picked up acoustic guitars and harmonized once again on the Everly Brothers “When Will I Be Loved” that they dedicated to the late Phil Everly.
The show was over three hours long and it was so good that I could have watched the entire performance again. This was one of the best collaborations I have ever seen between two iconic performers coming from different backgrounds and styles.
Paul Simon and Sting, Madison Square Garden, NYC – March 4, 2014
Setlist: Brand New Day@, The Boy in the Bubble@, Fields of Gold@, Every Little Thing She Does is Magic#, Englishman in New York#, I Hung My Head#, Driven to Tears#, Walking on the Moon#, Mother and Child Reunion@, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover*, Dazzling Blue*, Graceland*, Still Crazy After All These Years*, Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard*, Fragile@, America#, Message in a Bottle#, The Hounds of Winter#, They Dance Alone#, Roxanne#, Desert Rose#, The Boxer@, That Was Your Mother*, Hearts and Bones*, Mystery Train*, Wheels*, The Obvious Child*, Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes*, You Can Call Me Al*
Encore: Bridge Over Troubled Water@, Every Breath You Take@, Late in the Evening@, When Will I Be Loved?@
It has been four years since the members of Melt came together as a band. Co-founders Veronica Stewart-Frommer (Vocals) and Eric Gabriel (Vocals, Keys) both NYC natives, started playing music together in High School. They and some of their friends entered a local battle of the bands competition and won. They took the prize money from that competition and used it to produce the band’s first song“Sour Candy” which was released as a single in 2017.
Melt is a septet, which is comprised of an additional five members: Marlo Shankweiler (Guitar), Josh Greenzeig (Drums), Coulou (Trumpet), Lucas Saur (Bass), and Nick Sare (Saxophone). Melt’s successful debut single propelled the band into the limelight with the strategic utilization of social media and substantial exposure on various internet streaming services. “Sour Candy” holds the distinction of having over 5 million streams on Spotify since it’s initial release. Between this heavy exposure and the band’s high energy live performances, Melt has been successful in establishing themselves securely in the rough and tumble NYC music scene.
Melt has a reached another important milestone with the February release of their Debut EP West Side Highway, which includes six tracks of previously unreleased music. Recorded at the Bunker Studio in Brooklyn, West Side Highway reflects a new level of maturity that Melt has been successful in developing as a band. “Coming into the studio with the goal of creating a longer work, we thought more intently on how each track worked with one another and used the opportunity to weave together the wide set of influences helping to shape a seven-person band,” said Josh Greenzeig (Drums).
“We used the EP format to create a snapshot of what that moment in time was for us, cementing elements of our sound that we love and finding new ones worth exploring.”
West Side Highway starts out with opening track “Don’t Want Me,” a moody number that details a love affair that has gone bad and is still painfully lingering in it’s final death throes. The masterful guitar instrumentation by Shankweiler and the melancholic vocal by Stewart-Frommer both work in concert to create a setting of sad desperation with a longing to be released. It was a great way to start the record and one that was interesting in it’s selection. It set the meditative tone of the EP which is soothing, comforting, and introspective in it’s entirety. This on going theme is again illustrated with third track, the EP’s title track, “West Side Highway,” which can be considered a love letter to pandemic ravaged NYC. This thought evoking number features a wonderfully muted trumpet solo by Coulou that is enhanced with Gabriel’s creative keyboard playing. his type of musical craftmanship results in another gem of a track on the record.
We were able to get some time with Melt co-founders Veronica Stewart-Frommer (Vocals) and Eric Gabriel (Vocals, Keys) in order to discuss the band and it’s debute EP – West Side Highway.
Tim Bopp: How did the band Melt form and what were the circumstances that caused the genesis of the band.
Eric Gabriel: Veronica and I went to High School together and towards the end of high school we had some more time to kind of start playing with people around the city and that was really the first iteration.
Veronica Stewart-Frommer: The first call we made was Marlo who is our guitar player.
TB: How did you come up with the band name Melt?
VS-F: The funny thing about that is that we actually had the song even before we had the name for the band. Suddenly we were sitting with this single and we were like, “Alright and we kind of want to put this out there but we don’t have a name.” So we went down this very long list of random names. The night before we were going to release “Sour Candy” we actually made a Facebook page called Big Deli Chain. We were like, “That is it! That is the name! We are going to be Big Deli Chain (laughing).” At some point between 2AM and 4AM that night I was just like this band can’t be named Big Deli Chain and we changed it to Melt. It was so random.
TB: How has the Pandemic Affected the band and the new EP West Side Highway?
VS-F: The EP really is a product of the Pandemic. In a lot of ways, it feels like an entirely new Melt. This was such a unique time for us. Something that is interesting about us is that during the year we are all either doing our day jobs or even in school. A lot of us are still in college. So we do this kind of funky long distance band thing where we unite for these crazy weekend shows and then go our separate ways. In a lot of ways due to the Pandemic, if we wanted to work, we had to live together for multiple weeks in order to justify moving anywhere. It was kind of the first time since four years ago when the band started that we were able to settle down and really be together for weeks on end and write and hang out. We are such a live band that our songs are usually tested over months and years at live shows and they are based on what the audience reacts to and how we are feeling at the show but there was none of that this time.
EG: We have mostly been thought of as a live band. On most of our singles we typically try to document that energy that we all love about playing together at a live show. This EP we kind of wanted to go into a different direction. I think it is much more chilled out and doesn’t really have as much of that live band sound. The individual tracks we kind of wanted to take a different approach in the crafting of the songs.
TB: What are some of your musical influences?
VS-F: Part of what makes up the Melt sound is that we are seven people and some of us went to school for Jazz music and some of us studied political science and were raised on the Beatles and Bob Dylan. A lot of us have been into the Jam scene. That is actually how I met Marlo, through Phish and the Grateful Dead. I think we are kind of all over the map on that. Obviously as a singer I really adore a lot of artists like Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Otis Redding. That is where I fell in love with that genre and that type of singing. We are really all over the place. Right now a lot of us are into Phoebe Bridgers and the more Indie scene. I think that comes through on this EP.
EG: I grew up with a ton of Bruce Springsteen. More recently I listen to more folk music like Adrianne Lenker and also bands like the National. That kind of music.
TB: So, are you two the predominant the songwriters for Melt?
VS-F: Typically, that is how it has been. In the past, Eric and I usually write the lyrics to the songs that we sing, but we edit with each other and with other members of the band. Usually, it will either be one of the two of us will start a song and then bring it to the band. It evolves into a completely different direction from there. For this EP, since we were all together and couldn’t perform live, we wound up focusing a lot more on the production side of things as a band. Our bass player Lucas is really skilled at recording and in engineering production. He played a huge role in creating the foundation for the songs on the EP. We experimented a lot on this record this time around.
EG: This time around we started with Josh the drummer literally laying down songs, sometime just on his own. Then we would add the bass track and then that leads us into the guitar and usually vocals at the end. We really just build it up.
VS-F: We don’t know which way we like better. Maybe in the future we will go back in and play everything as if we are playing live. I think part of the beauty of Melt is that we are so young, so we don’t feel tied to any of our ways and we like to try out new things and see how it goes.
TB: How long did it take a band like Melt to complete the West Side Highway EP?
VS-F: Start to finish it was like two months. We were really lucky to be able to record the EP at the Bunker Studios in Brooklyn. We had a really wonderful producer and engineer named Aaron Nevezie who mixed some of the tracks as well.
EG: Some songs were written earlier, like Hours I wrote about a year ago.
TB: What does the future have in store for Melt?
Eric: We cannot wait to start playing shows again. We are really looking forward to playing out. The last real show Melt played was at the Sinclair in Cambridge last February. It felt like that at that show we all came together and we were fully on it. Our trumpet player Aaron even stage dived at the end of the “Sour Candy” solo that night.
VS-F: That show was awesome. It wasn’t the biggest room we have played, but just the layout of the place was great. It went straight back so you could see everyone and there was great energy that night. I also think the Knitting Factory show we played in Brooklyn. That was the first time we played “Waves.” Before a show we are always saying to the band don’t go too fast let’s keep the energy contained. Once we get out there it is just like an explosion and we are always playing at 100%. We don’t have many moments during a set where we just drop back and take a moment to breathe. In the bridge in “Waves” there is a moment where everyone drops out and it is just me and Eric. That was really a special moment. I always think about that moment when I picture live music coming back. It was the first time that we had ever played the song and I think the audience was psyched to hear a new song and it was kind of a sentimental little moment. It was really cool.
Key Tracks: Don’t Want Me, West Side Highway, Waves
Saturday Night Live welcomed Nick Jonas for 15th episode of Season46. Tonight’s cold open featured cast members feigning medical conditions in order to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Kate McKinnon continued her portrayal of Dr. Anthony Fauci, with Aidy Bryant as Senator Ted Cruz and Pete Davidson as Governor Andrew Cuomo. Despite criticisms of SNL having a liberal bias, both politicians were teased equally, with more than a nursing home joke thrown in Cuomo’s direction.
Gearing up for his first solo album since the success of the Jonas Brothers’ 2019 comeback, Nick Jonas had double duty as host and musical guest. In addition to new songs “Spaceman” and “This Is Heaven” he appeared in several skits throughout the night, playing Prince Charming and a Mirror fitness coach.
Besides promoting his new music, Nick is also set to return for his sophomore season as a coach on The Voice. In a Dionne Warwick Talk Show skit opposite Ego Nwodim, she told him, “I’ve heard you’re the most boring coach, even though one of the other coaches is John Legend.”
In his opening monologue, Nick paid homage to Broadway theatre, still shuttered nearly a year later, by singing “Drink With Me” from Les Misérables. Back in 2010, Nick played Marius in the London production of Les Mis at the O2 Arena. He also gave a shout-out to older brother and bandmate Kevin, who was in the audience, as well as his home state of New Jersey.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCy5Gb9NYN0
Nick’s first song was his new single, “Spaceman.” With themes of isolation and disillusionment, the song references mask-wearing and the rising pandemic death toll, tying them up with an outer space metaphor. “And the numbers are high but we keep going down / ‘Cause we ain’t supposed to live with nobody around,” the chorus says.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12akdhW8OEs
He closed out the night by debuting “This Is Heaven,” which sounds suspiciously like his 2014 hit “Jealous.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p9TzfI6WGM
SNLreturns on March 27, with former cast member Maya Rudolph hosting and Jack Harlow as the musical guest.
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.
D’Angelo will hold a Verzuz DJ battle against unnamed “friends,” taking place on February 27 at 8 pm EST, at the historical Apollo Theater in Harlem.
(Photo by Cheryl Gerber/Invision/AP, File)
He announced another episode of Verzuz, an online DJ-battle series, in which artists face off their contemporaries. The competition is fun, friendly, and fans cheer on artists as they DJ hit songs against each other. Previous sets have included Alicia Keys vs. John Legend. Beginning during lockdown, Verzuz has become a staple respite for music fans everywhere. The notoriously reclusive artist, D’Angelo, who champions quality over quantity will take the stage at the Apollo Theater for the first time since 2014.
D’Angelo will be challenging several guests at his performance, which expands the online show to a larger spectacle. Due to his sparse public performances, rumors have arisen of new music, although the artist has released one album in 21 years.
In the early 1990s, D’Angelo exploded onto the “new retro soul” scene with artists such as Erykah Badu. His 2000 hit album, Voodoo, catapulted him into the spotlight, and he retracted, rarely playing shows. The next D’Angelo album did not come to fruition until 2014, and he vanished from the public eye quickly after a supporting tour. On that tour, it was the last time D’Angelo played the Apollo Theater. This return is long anticipated, and you can stream it on February 27 at 8pm EST through Verzuz.
