Mark Morales, known as Prince Markie Dee and a founding member of hip-hop/ rap group The Fat Boys, passed away at 52 years old, just one day before his birthday, on February 18, 2021. AllHipHop reported Prince Markie Dee had died from congestive heart failure after suffering “distressing” health issues.
Mark Anthony Morales also hosted “The Prince Markie Dee Show” on LL Cool J’s Rock the Bells channel on SiriusXM radio.Credit…Robin Marchant/Getty Images
Mark Morales was born on February 19, 1968 in Brooklyn. He formed the band called ‘Disco 3′ with Darren Robinson and Damon Wimbley in the early 1980s. After they won a talent contest at Radio City Music Hall in 1983 the group signed a contract with the show’s promoter. They eventually ended up rename themselves the Fat Boys in reference to their weight under their promoter at the time’s recommendation.
The Fat Boys went on to release seven albums, three of which were gold certified and one reaching platinum status. They had hit songs like “Jail House Rap,” “Can You Feel It,” and “The Fat Boys Are Back” and brought beatboxing into the spotlight. The trio even appeared in a few films including “Disorderlies” “Krush Groove” and “Knights of the City.” They ended up breaking up in the early 1990s. Band member Darren Robinson died in 1995 at age 28 after falling off of a chair while rapping for friends and lost consciousness.
Morales started work as a songwriter and producer for Uptown Records, collaborating with Father MC and Mary J. Blige after the group disbanded. According to The New York Timesarticle “He helped write and produce Ms. Blige’s 1992 breakout hit “Real Love” and worked on her debut album, What’s the 411? He also worked on songs and remixes for Destiny’s Child, Mariah Carey and others.” Later in his life, Morales became a radio personality based in Florida. He started back in 2008 to 2010, serving as the afternoon drive radio host/DJ at 103.5 The Beat WMIB radio in Miami, Florida. He also ended up working at WEDR 99.1 FM and the Rock the Bells station of Sirius XM which he hosted his show The Prince Markie Dee Show.
https://youtu.be/cvqxIDmEw_c
Prince Markie Dee aka Mark Morales will be missed by the music community. We mourn his loss and send our condolences to his family and friends.
Each Sunday evening from 7-9pm you’ll find EQXposure on WEQX, featuring two hours of local music from up and coming artists. Tune into WEQX.com this Sunday night to hear new music from Ferriday, Eion Noonan and many more.
WEQX has long been the preeminent independent station in the Capital Region of New York, broadcasting from Southern VT to an ever-expanding listening audience. NYS Music brings you a preview of artists to discover each week, just a taste of the talent waiting to be discovered by fans like you.
This week’s featured band is Albany’s Ferriday, where Pearson will be playing four in a row off of Everywhere You Go. Ferriday’s tunes are straight forward pure rock and roll indulgence with unique lyrical stories. They stand alone as individual singles yet also work cohesively flowing from one tune and vibe to the next. The playing from all the members is excellent, with note choices, song treatments, guitar tones, down to bass drum use, are very well put together for a well honed sound.
Also featured is Irish-born Vermont resident, Eoin Noonan, and his beautiful tune, “Lovin’.” Eoin continues to create original and inspiring music that alternates between indie rock, country and folk music.
Noonan has excellent song crafting and performance, with a great mood set forth in this piece of music. The march tempo and catchy lyrics, make “Lovin’” a creative single that inspires a desire to hear more from this Irish transplant now finding an artistic home in Vermont.
On Saturday, May 8, indie rock band Mt. Joy is coming to Silver Lake Drive-In in Perry, NY. Presented by Twenty6 Productions, the show begins at 4:00 p.m. EST with special guests to be announced.
Tickets are available in seven tiers, ranging from front-of-stage VIP pods ($275) to car seating (starting at $125). Each ticket purchase includes admission for five people, with VIP ticket holders receiving show posters. Individual tickets are also available for concertgoers in cars occupying more than five. The snack bar and restrooms are open at limited capacity, and guests must wear a face mask to use them.
Mt. Joy formed in 2016, when former high school classmates Matt Quinn (vocals, guitar) and Sam Cooper (guitar) met again on the opposite side of the country in Los Angeles. They linked up with bassist Michael Byrnes through a Craigslist ad, and named the band after Mount Joy, a mountain in Valley Forge National Historical Park near their hometown of Philadelphia, PA. The band’s first song, “Astrovan” was an instant success, receiving over two million Spotify streams in its first month of release and over 36 million to date. Other hits soon followed, such as “Sheep” and “Silver Lining.” Mt. Joy is rounded out by drummer Sotiris Eliopoulos and keyboardist Jackie Miclau.
Mt. Joy’s second album, Rearrange Us, was released on June 5, 2020, coinciding with the murder of George Floyd. The band was unable to delay the album, so they instead donated 100% of profits to the police reform nonprofit Campaign Zero. Rearrange Us marked the band’s debut on the Billboard 200, with the single “Strangers” also reaching #5 on the Adult Alternative chart. While their dates were cut short due to the pandemic, Mt. Joy toured with the Lumineers throughout early 2020. Most recently, they released “New President” in October, ahead of Joe Biden’s victory:
For more information on Mt. Joy’s Silver Lake Drive-In show, view the event details here.
Netflix is gearing up for the premiere of their newly announced documentary, Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell, which will be released on March 1, 2021. The documentary will take a deep dive into the personal life and career of The Notorious B.I.G. with commentary from fellow rappers and close friends. The streaming platform teased the series’ first trailer Tuesday, February 16.
The documentary will provide in-depth content on the deceased mega-star, Christopher Wallace, aka The Notorious B.I.G. Produced by Volleta Wallace, The rapper’s mother, the series will feature interviews from friend and collaborator, Diddy.
“Biggie blew up overnight, You have no origins from what rap planet this guy came from,” you can hear Diddy say over the series trailer which features archived snapshots detailing The Notorious B.I.G.’s quick rise to fame.
Snippets of the series also shared in the teaser include Biggie’s mother talking about his Brooklyn childhood, reflecting on memories of a young Christopher Wallace writing and reciting songs at a young age.
“This will be the first documentary to focus on the experiences of my son’s life rather than the circumstances of his death. It is a celebration of who he was and where he came from. This is how he would have wanted to be remembered,” says Volleta, explaining the need for a different narrative surrounding the rapper, who died March 9, 1997 at the age of 24.
The Notorious B.I.G. remains to be just that, even 20 years after his death, he remains prevalent in in rap culture. His contributions to the genre along with never before seen blend of wordplay, delivery and songwriting ability have contributed to keeping his legacy alive.
Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs will celebrate the life of Matt McCabe, owner of Saratoga Guitar and former Commissioner of Finance. The memorial will be livestreamed on Saturday. February 20th at 7pm.
Photo from Caffe Lena’s website
The event will be hosted by McCabe’s friend and fellow musician Rick Bolton. The online tribute will feature stories and musical performances by some of the community members who found McCabe’s shop to be a place of support and inspiration. The performances have been prerecorded and include: Leigh Gibson of the Gibson Brothers, Kate Taylor, Dan Berggren, Mark Tolstrup, Chuck Lamb, John Kribs, Michael Eck, Brian Melick, Ria Curley, Angelina Valente, Pete Pashoukas and many more.
Matt McCabe was an example of how a small business can have a huge impact. His goal was to raise the quality of life for everyone. That is why we’re celebrating him. He gave away instruments for fundraising raffles, he gave steep discounts to those in need, and he donated performances to make life a little brighter.
Sarah Craig, Caffe Lena Executive Director
Caffe Lena is a historic music venue located on downtown Saratoga Springs, opening up back in 1960. The café has seen a number of legendary act take it’s stage, from the likes of Bob Dylan in 1961 to recently Sawyer Fredricks in 2014. The Library of Congress has recognized Caffe Lena as “An American Treasure”; as well as being recognized by The Grammy Foundation for important contributions to the development of American music.
The Matt McCabe memorial will be streamed for free on all Caffe Lena social media channels. More information can be found at www.caffelena.org
The impacts of COVID-19 have been felt throughout the entire world, with many having to deal with unfortunate tragedies as a result of the virus. Furthermore, the worldwide quarantine was a strain on many people’s mental health. Humans are social beings after all and forced isolation is bound to have a negative effect, despite its necessity. It was during this time that recording artist, Summer Williams, began to brew ideas for the matching/music creation app, Lyricster.io.
Williams’ innovation was preceded by strenuous efforts to record, collaborate and discover new music during quarantine. There had to be a more efficient way to go about this without having to search countless databases for music album credits. Having used dating apps in the past, William, 30, saw this as an opportunity to add a new spin to musical fraternalization.
“Isolation and quarantine was a blessing and a curse. Being forced to stay indoors allowed me the time to slow down and focus on my needs as a music creator personally and what was lacking in the professional networking space,“ said Williams.
In doing so, she has entrenched herself as a member of the music industry as both a creator and executive. A graduate of Manhattanville college with a degree in music management, Williams is an R&B songstress in her own right, going by the moniker, SLSTRSS, with Lyricster.io serving as her passion project.
The official beta for Lyricster.io launched on January 21, 2021 and was presented at their Songwriters Super Conference, where potential consumers tuned in for a day of expert panelists in the music publishing, sync licensing, audio production, songwriting, social media and entrepreneurship industries, representing industry giants like; Twitter, Songtradr, Songtrust, Berklee College of Music and more.
While collaboration is one of the app’s main selling points, it is more than just about pairing musical acts together. Lyricster.io works to empower the individual through various initiatives. Each Thursday at 9 p.m., Lyricster.io hosts a free members-only virtual session with expert guest songwriters and producers from all genres of music, breaking down their creative processes.
The app has also introduced an online education platform titled “Lyricster University.” The learning tool uploads weekly ‘‘fast classes,” with animated lessons explaining complexities like; royalty collection and copyright protection for musicians, a major point of contention for established artists when speaking to hopefuls. Other features include the ability to filter by genre, location, vocal style, creator type and much more, with the option to match and message your way to musical relationships.
The idea of dating apps are amazing in terms of easily searching through an endless database of users so we kept that similar. What we added are key features fit for musicians, like video profiles instead of picture profiles, links to all music streaming, file sharing and ‘sounds like” filters to experience a user’s full audio resume before being swiped.
Lyricster founder Summer Williams
As a beta launch, all services are completely free. After March 15th, swiping in your city will always be free, but access to the upgraded filters and location search will be $14.99/month.
Imagine the beautiful new sounds of music when we can all just collaborate, both in song and in this country. This year has been incredibly traumatic as a dark-skinned woman in America and it’s time we change the sound ourselves, because we’ve played nice long enough.”
On Wednesday, February 17, 1988, 33 years ago tonight, the ‘headbangingest band in L.A.’, Armored Saint, played a gig at Saratoga Winners in Latham, NY. At the time, the band were touring their great third record, ‘Raising Fear’, on Chrysalis Records. Saint had been to the Albany area before – opening for Metallica and WASP in early 1985 in Scotia in support of first album ‘March of the Saint’, and again in mid-1986, a headline show at the short-lived JB’s Theater, promoting second record ‘Delirious Nomad’, so this gig was packed with enthusiastic headbangers.
Metroland advert
The opening act was Albany-area heavies M-16, and the years have dimmed my memory of their set – but I remember them getting a good reaction, not much else.
Bassist Joey Vera – photo by Mark Kurtzner
Saint hit the Saratoga Winners stage with the blazing title track of the then-new record, “Raising Fear,” followed by the anthemic first-album classic “March of the Saint,” the chorus roared along with by those in attendance. The band played a long set, incorporating older songs like “Can U Deliver,” “Nervous Man” and set-closer “Long Before I Die.” A particular highlight was the creeping, epic tale of nuclear annihilation, “Aftermath,” from Delirious Nomad. Drummer Gonzo and late, great guitarist Dave Prichard also had solo spots, both killer musicians. These days the band rarely play songs from ‘Raising Fear’, but that night they did a fair number of tracks from it, including vampire tale “Human Vulture,” “Out on a Limb,” their cover of Lynyrd Syknyrd’s “Saturday Night Special,” “Book of Blood,” and the rampaging “Chemical Euphoria,” the most enduring and the one most oft-played over the years. The first encore was “Frozen Will/Legacy” from that record – Setlist FM, if you believe “internet truths,” says this was the only known time they played that song live, ever, but maybe it was the only time it was bootlegged. Either way, great song.
Guitarist Dave Prichard – photo by Mark Kurtzner
The show finished with the band raging through a cover of Black Sabbath’s first-album classic “N.I.B.,” and the band’s high-speed, neck-snapping traditional show-closer, the mighty “Mad House.” A roaring, headbanging night – luckily, the whole thing was filmed by a fan in the audience, and is available online, and the energetic vibe from both band and crowd bleeds through, even via the rough footage available.
The video caused some drama after the show. My buddy Mark (who took the great photos accompanying this retrospective) and I had set up an interview with singer John Bush for post-concert – I think for my WCDB college radio show – and when we were about to go back, the road manager, a guy named Zach, gave us a major ration about the video. Apparently, someone had seen a friend of ours videoing it, saw us talking, and insisted that we turn over the video before the interview commenced. Of course, it wasn’t our video, we didn’t have it, people tape stuff, that’s life – plus, said bootlegger had left, so what were we supposed to do? Road Manager guy didn’t want to hear it and continued to give us grief. This lasted for a while. I can’t recall how it resolved, but I think someone from the band told him to chill out, and we got a really good interview with John and some of the other guys – I remember we got a really funny, cool WCDB station ID from drummer Gonzo and guitarist Dave Prichard which was used on-air and WCDB for years afterwards. Road manager aside, Saint were/are some great guys.
Singer John Bush – photo by Mark Kurtzner
The ironic part of the “road manager giving us crap” story is that, via the tape-trading scene, Saint eventually got a copy of the video, and used the bootleg video recording of “Raising Fear” from this show as part of the ‘Trip Through Red Times’ video/DVD which was released as a tribute to the mighty AS guitarist Dave Prichard after he sadly passed away from leukemia just two years later – what a great guitarist this guy was, and he’s been gone 31 years this month. A sad loss. All hail Dave, and all hail Armored Saint.
Setlist: Raising Fear, March of the Saint, Human Vulture, Nervous Man, Out on a Limb (Last known live performance), Aftermath, Book of Blood, Chemical Euphoria, Can U Deliver, Gonzo Sandoval’s Drum Solo, Can U Deliver (reprise), Dave Prichard’s Guitar Solo, Saturday Night Special (Lynyrd Skynrd cover), Long Before I Die
Encore: Frozen Will / Legacy (Only known live performance) , N. I. B. (Black Sabbath cover – Last known performance), Mad House
What is it about Upstate New York Winter’s that make great music artists bring their multi-colored California concepts here to heat things up? Forty-one years ago today, Jerry Garcia Band came to be an act for the Lake Ontario sound at Laker Hall on SUNY Oswego campus February 17, 1980.
A then 37-year old Garcia had his second touring band outside the Grateful Dead since collaborating with Howard Wales on hooteroll?. His four piece ensemble consisted of John Kahn on Bass, David Ozzie Ahlers on Keyboards, and Johnny De Fonseca on drums. The band set up atop the cold brick Route 104 venue on the hill, overlooking Lake Ontario, for three hours of music played to around 2,000 people.
They certainly let Jerry’s influences play out in the performance with covers of Allen Toussaint, Marvin Gaye, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Jimmy Cliff, J.J Cale, The Beatles, and his own material with the Grateful Dead. Like a typical New York Winter, Syracuse Deadhead Vinny Randazzo remembers the drive to the Oswego show as “covered in snow and sound.” The group immediately stretches out for fifteen minutes to start the show on Toussaint’s “I’ll Take A Melody” to let you know “I understand why the old fisherman, sails along, someday he’ll be gone.” Perhaps it was a quick nod to the windy docks of the Great Lake that sat next to all. There’s some devil out there that’s for sure, which launched them into “Friend of the Devil,” a friend Jerry normally plays with. Just three days after Valentine’s Day and three songs into the performance, love for the faithful is shown on “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You).” The band then casts a line out to the crowd at shore, for a muddy version of “Catfish John.”
Jerry Garcia, Laker Hall, SUNY Oswego
The Grateful Dead anthem “Deal” comes up next, with Jerry reminding you of tours past: “ If I told you all that went down, it would burn off both of your ears!” There is a 4th Street in Oswego, and Jerry covers the waterside corner during his take on Dylan’s “Positively 4th St” singing, ” You see me on the street, you always act surprised, you say “How are you?,” “Good Luck” But you don’t mean it.”
They close the set with a rockabilly tribute to Elvis for “That’s Alright Mama.” Yea, that first set was more than alright for all in attendance… “any way you do.”
Lake Ontario Winter Melody: “The Sky was Grey with a Spec of Blue, Peek through a Hole in the Clouds, The Sun was Screaming “Hey You!”
After the set break, Elvis had not left the building. The quartet kicked off with the King’s version of “Money Honey,” that got everyone in GA hound-dogging back on the floor. During the set break the crowd certainly felt like they had been “Sitting Here in Limbo,” which is what the band dropped next. David Ozzie Ahlers brings you to Jimmy Cliff’s islands with a two part keyboard solo. Jerry reflects on an American working day for the the next track “Later in the evening when the sun is sinking low, all day I’ve Been waiting for the Whistle to Blow” on “Let It Rock.” Garcia lights up his delta licks on this Chuck Berry classic.
Up next is one of the greatest live improvisational segue ways in rock and roll history. On the famous tape you might recognize the “After Midnight —> Eleanor Rigby Jam—>After Midnight” jam that was only played in the beginning of that decade. This is one of Senor Garcia’s sweetest unplanned moments to be captured.
1980 Eleanor Rigby Jam in to After Midnight at Oswego
Jerry takes another stab at Dylan’s seasonal lyrics “Now the wintertime is coming, the windows are filled with frost, I went to tell everybody but I could not get across, well, I wanna be your lover baby, I don’t want to be your Boss” for “It Takes A Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry” Jerry’s Tiger guitar Quartet immediately melt the ice with the last song for “The Harder They Come.” “The Harder they Fall, One and All” to bring back the island vibe beats to close out the evening.
Jerry Garcia Band 1980 winter tour rolled through New York State from Oswego to The Palace Theater in Albany, The Landmark Theater in Syracuse, The Calderone Theater in Hempstead and SUNY Stonybrook. They came back to Laker Hall under new personnel one last time on December 11, 1983 with Melvin Seals. Jerry Garcia kept a solo band outside of The Grateful Dead for the next 15 years with Melvin Seals How Sweet It Is: Melvin Seals at The Westcott Theater who carries the JGB touring torch to this day.
In a 1981 interview someone asked Jerry Garcia “What are the virtues playing with your own band compared to the Grateful Dead?” Garcia responded “Its a real resonate consonance experience, its like harmonious, every bodies musical taste is similar to my own, ya know?, and our concept of what music should be, were an accord, so my band is playing the kind of music that I think of the way music is constructed , in terms of the roles and the instruments, The Grateful Dead is interesting because everyone has a different concept of what music is about, which creates a lot of friction and tension to it”
Jerry Garcia Band, February 17 1980, Laker Hall, Oswego, NY
Set 1: I’ll Take A Melody, Friend Of The Devil, How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) Catfish John, Deal, Positively 4th Street That’s All Right, Mama
Set 2: Money Honey, Sitting Here In Limbo, Let It Rock, After Midnight > Eleanor Rigby Jam > After Midnight, It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry, The Harder They Come
Saratoga Springs company, Opera Saratoga, has announced that their series dedicated to highlighting BIPOC talent, America Sings, returns on February 21 to Caffe Lena.
America Sings Headliner Luis Alejandro Orozco
The free concert, America Sings, takes place at Caffe Lena after months of being paused due to the pandemic. America Sings was created to lift up the voices of the unheard and underrepresented racial groups on the opera stage. Texas native baritone, Luis Alejandro Orozco, is the first performer for this comeback, along with pianist Michael Lewis. The program will also feature music from classical composers, Schubert, Brahmsand Piazzolla.
Orozco is a Mexican-American opera singer and was apart of Opera Saratoga’s Young Artist Program. He is noted for his baritone and legato. For several seasons, Orozco performed in several shows for a plethora of operas. Due to COVID-19, the 2019-2020 season was short-lived, he performed at the Opera in Williamsburg and Opera Roanoake. While he has already performed nationally and internationally, he made his Swiss debut recently at Theater St. Gallen.
America Sings debuted in November 2020 with Mezzo-soprano Deborah Nansteel as the headliner for the first concert with pianist Giovanni Reggioli. COVID-19 put the series to a halt, however, it is ready to be put back in action. It is live-streamed and free to the public but viewers are encouraged to donate through a virtual tip jar. The tips are split evenly to support the Opera Saratoga and the performing artist since both parties have been financially impacted by opera shutdowns.
The series comes back this Sunday at 7 p.m. Future performers include soprano Brandie Sutton, baritone Justin Austin and composer and pianist Damien Sneed, who were originally supposed to perform in December and January. Leadership support for the show comes from Greenburg Traurig, LLP and hospitality sponsorship from The Hampton Inn & Suites Saratoga Springs. America Sings live-streams on Caffe Lena’s Youtube channel and Facebook and Opera Saratoga’s Facebook.
Vevo has revealed Brooklyn emcee Sheff G as the latest artist to get spotlighted in their Ctrl series, with performances of “Eeny Meany Miny Moe” and “Lights On” from his 2020 project, Proud Of Me Now.
Vevo’s Ctrl series highlights the work of hard-hitting, cutting-edge musicians making an impact in today’s music scene – both emerging and established. These artists demand attention, and Vevo’s Ctrl shines a deserving spotlight. Sheff G’s performance follows sessions from Rick Ross, Common, Rapsody, Fat Joe, Jeezy, Jadakiss, Fabolous, A$AP Ferg and more.
From the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, Sheff G — born, Michael Williams — gained recognition for his 2017 drill record “No Suburban.” The song’s popularity — along with a slew of other popular drill songs — helped usher in a new era of rappers from the borough and spotlighted the gang activity that often served as the pre-cursor to the music.
Following the success of “No Suburban,” Sheff G released his much-heralded debut mixtape, The Unluccy Luccy Kid. The project contained popular records like “We Getting Money,” “Flows” and “Designer,” with the latter two featuring friend and frequent collaborator, Sleepy Hallow.
Williams released his next project One and Only in May 2020, and Proud Of Me Now, which includes “Eeny Meany Miny Moe,” in December. He rounded out the year with singles “Light On” and “No Negotiations.” Donning a blue bandana themed shirt and pants, Sheff G’s live performances is a continuation of the rapper’s progression from homegrown talent to bonafide star. In usual Sheff G fashion, both records are thumping and assertive, displaying his fearlessness and bravado on the streets through his music.
