The New York Youth Symphony is excited to announce Tom Kitt as the lead for a new Virtual Masterclass, taking place on February 23rd from 6 to 8:30 pm. Tom is a professional composer, arranger and orchestrater for Broadway plays such as Next to Normal and Then/If. The masterclass will feature songs written and composed by the NYYS Musical Theater Songwriting students, as performed by students from Harlem School of the Arts and the New York Film Academy
Led by Director Anna K. Jacobs, the NYYS MTS program invites musical theater lovers to tune in live on Zoom or YouTube Live, to see Mr. Kitt share constructive feedback with students, as well as insights into his own creative and professional journey.
Tom Kitt has had a remarkable career in musical theater. His numerous accolades include Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2010, as well as two Tony Awards for Best Score and Best Orchestrations for Next to Normal. Tom’s most recent projects include The Visitor at the Public Theater and Flying Over Sunset at Lincoln Center Theater. Currently, Tom is a recording artist at Sony Masterworks and has begun recording his debut album, since Summer 2020.
Tom Kitt has carved out an astonishing, singular career as a theater artist. He is deeply admired by the aspiring young composer-lyricists in our MTS program, which is why we are so thrilled to have him leading a masterclass this season.
Anna K. Jacobs, Director
The New York Youth Symphony is the most awarded youth program of its kind in the nation, recognized for its innovative educational programs for talented young musicians. Founded in 1963 as an orchestra to showcase the metropolitan area’s most gifted musicians ages 12-22, its activities have since grown to encompass programs in jazz, chamber music, conducting, composition, and musical theater songwriting, with performances at world class venues including Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and the Public Theater. Through its commissioning program, First Music, the NYYS has commissioned over 165 works from young composers since 1984.
On Friday, February 7, 1964, Beatlemania arrived in the United States, as John, Paul, George and Ringo touched down on Pan Am Flight 101 at JFK Airport in Queens. More than 3,000 screaming fans greeted the mod suit wearing Beatles on the tarmac, leading to a few injuries among the crowd.
AP photo
In Anthology, Paul McCartney shared his thoughts as the plane approached New York.
There were millions of kids at the airport, which nobody had expected. We heard about it in mid-air. There were journalists on the plane, and the pilot had rang ahead and said, ‘Tell the boys there’s a big crowd waiting for them.’ We thought, ‘Wow! God, we have really made it.’
At nearly 1:30 p.m., the plane taxied to the terminal and the aircraft door opened. Cheers and screams rang out from the crowd. The NY Daily News reported a 17-year-old June Clayton of Brooklyn saying “They’re so cute. And Ringo’s the cutest. Look at them comb their hair!”
In addition to the huge crowd carrying signs and placards, the press numbered 200, reporters, photographers and cameramen among them.
How did so many people arrive at JFK Airport on this Friday afternoon? It seems Seltaeb, who handled The Beatles’ merchandising in the States, offered a promotion that promised every one who showed up at the airport would receive a t-shirt and a dollar, or $8.40 in 2021 dollars. The idea was crafted by Nicky Byrne of Seltaeb, with direction from Beatles manager Brian Epstein.
Byrne made a deal with radio stations WMCA and 1010 WINS to promote the offer, but Capitol Records had a promotion of their own, arranging for posters and car stickers that read “The Beatles are Coming” being spread out across New York City. When fans called Capitol Records, receptionists would answer the phone, “Capitol Records, The Beatles are coming.” Between radio, print and offers of a free shirt and money, fans flocked to JFK to give the boys from Liverpool a proper welcome.
Murray the K, DJ at 1010 WINS, announced The Beatles’ flight number and time of arrival over the air, which was spread by larger stations WMCA and WABC, helping to build anticipation.
The band then held a press conference inside Kennedy Airport where they met Murray the K, and were asked by the press pool to say their names, as the were individually not well known to the press.
The playful press conference was nothing more than a slapstick routine for the foursome, mildly frustrating the straight-laced press. Just as the crowd was dissipating, Paul grabbed the microphone to say “We have a message.” As reporters got ready to take notes and photographers jockeyed for position, Paul would say, “Our message is: buy more Beatles records!”
The Fab Four would leave the airport in four separate limousines, with Cynthia Lennon accompanying John and the others riding solo. Epstein and others needed to hail a taxi to get into Manhattan. A play-by-play could be heard on the radio by McCartney, which culminated in a crowd of fans and reporters swarming the band at the Plaza Hotel, where the band was giving a 10-room suite on the 12th floor with a Central Park view.
In the days that followed, The Beatles would make music history in New York City and Washington, D.C. On Sunday, February 9 at 8pm, Ed Sullivan welcomed the band to his stage for five songs: “All My Loving,” Meredith Willson’s “Till There Was You,” “She Loves You,” “I Saw Her Standing There” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” 73 million tuned in to watch The Ed Sullivan Show that night, roughly two-fifths of the population in America at that time. This would be the largest television audience at the time, according to Nielsen.
On February 11 at the Washington Coliseum, The Beatles performed their first American concert, with 8,000 lucky fans in attendance. They returned to the Big Apple the next day for performances at Carnegie Hall on the 12th and 13th, each of which were attended by 2,000.
From New York, The Beatles flew to Miami, making a second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 16, broadcast from the Napoleon Ballroom at the Deauville Hotel in Miami Beach, bringing in another huge audience of 70 million viewers. Returning to England via Heathrow Airport on February 22, the band was met by 10,000 fans, leaving the beginnings of Beatlemania in their wake back in America.
Arlene’s Grocery, located on the Lower East Side, has seen many young and well known acts get their start, including Arcade Fire, Lady Gaga, Lana Del Rey and Jim Carrey. You may also recognize Arlene’s Grocery from the #SaveOurStages movement, where now Senate Majority Leader, Senator Chuck Schumer, was seen on the street showing his support for the venue.
Due to the unfortunate circumstances that COVID-19 has left indie music venues in, without the support of live music crowds, Arlene’s Grocery is in need of funds to remain open.
Fortunately, up and coming indie R&B/Hip-Hop artist, Versa the Band, is putting on a livestream concert benefit on February 9 at 7 PM EST to raise money for the venue. Tickets are $10 with all proceeds going to Arlene’s Grocery.
Arlene’s Grocery was indeed a grocery, and opened its doors in 1995 in the, then treacherous, Lower East Side. The venue’s history begins with upcoming bands that flocked to the neighborhood to experience sounds emanating from the 150-capacity room, which played host to garage rock, punk, and bohemian newcomers, including Jeff Buckley. In the late 1990s, the club branched out into the butcher shop next door and became two rooms under one roof.
As the neighborhood gentrified around them, the Lower East Side became the hub of NYC rock. The club hired a Live Rock n’ Roll Karaoke band who became an instant hit in the city, attracting New Yorkers and tourists from all over the globe to catch a glimpse of celebrities, such as Moby, belting out AC/DC. As a handful of live music clubs pop up (and down) around the area, Arlene’s holds fast to its intention of nurturing unsigned bands; its attention to the highest quality sound; and remaining an institution in the NYC rock scene.
Originating from Long Island, New York, Versa the Band got its start in 2019 and made it a priority to create music that was genreless; a discography for anyone to listen to, not defined in any one box. The band — which isn’t much of a band at all — describes itself as a “Music Collective” of artists who come together to collaborate with founder Ethan Felizzari.
Versa the Band blends alternative and hip hop with traditional pop, elements of jazz, soft rock & more. Influences include artists like Bon Iver, James Blake, Rosalía, and soul legend Sam Cooke. Sharing why this live stream benefit is important to them, and what viewers can expect from their performance, Ethan Felizzari of Versa the Band said:
This event means the world to me. Arlene’s Grocery is by far my favorite independent music venue. It’s everything NYC underground is about. To perform here and headline our very own event all in benefit for the classic venue is just insane. The fact that we get to help out a small business during this difficult time. That’s always been so important to me coming from a family of entrepreneurs. It all starts with small business and indie venues are often forgotten.
The Livestream is going to be unlike any other VTB performance. I am honored to be performing with three other amazing artists who are just going to elevate this thing to a whole new level. We’ll be performing a bunch of originals and some crazy covers. Harry Styles. Ariana Grande. It’s gonna be nuts I can’t wait.
Ethan Felizzari of Versa the Band
Get tickets to the Tuesday, February 9 livestream, 7pm, HERE.
Six Degree Records has announced a new Witch Camps album, titled I’ve Forgotten Now Who I Used to Be, due for release on March 12th. The album is a collection of exceptional field recordings captured at Ghana’s “witch camps,” the isolated locations where women accused of witchcraft banded together to form a community. Premiered by the release of “Hatred Drove Me From My Home,” the album consists of a vocal/instrumental look into the lives and culture of women accused of witchcraft, held in the camps.
Belief in witchcraft is sometimes also used as simple scapegoating for the arrival of bad luck such as foul weather or illness. More commonly, it is a justification for pre-existing hate and prejudice. A member of my own family was driven out of her village in Malawi as a child after she was accused of being a witch due to having a white father— a fate that could have been my own if our places of birth were simply swapped.
Umuhoza Delli on persecution of women in Ghana
GRAMMY Award-winning producer and author Ian Brennan is taking the lead in producing this project alongside his wife, Italian-Rwandan film maker, author and photographer, Marilena Umuhoza Delli. The couple has dedicated their lives to providing a platform for marginalized and underrepresented voices. This project just another important opportunity to give a platform to those who need it.
Photo Credit: Marilena Umuhoza Delli
Consisting of 20 songs with beautiful vocals in regional dialect, and instruments created from the immediate environment, I’ve Forgotten Now Who I Used To Be is now available for preorder on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. Listening to the preview alone, it’s incredible to see what these talented women were able to create with objects like corn-husks, tree limbs, tin cans, teapots, and a balloon leftover from a political rally.
Six Degrees Records has shared “Love, Please” the second song to be released from I’ve Forgotten Now Who I Used to Be which arrives via Six Degrees Records on March 12.
Staten Island-born musician, multi-instrumentalist and member of Blue Oyster Cult, Richie Castellano, celebrates his 41st birthday today.
Growing up in Staten Island, New York, Castellano is a fifth-generation musician who developed his musical talents at a young age. He is also an audio engineer.
Castellano earned his degree in Music Production at the State University of New York at Purchase. In 2001, he produced and engineered Regina Spektor’s debut album, 11:11. During his undergraduate career, he won three awards for his talents, including first place in the Songwriter Hall of Fame’s songwriting competition, 1998.
His versatile musical talents led him to Blue Oyster Cult. Beginning in 2000, Richie Castellano was one of their engineers. However, in early 2004, he received a call that would change his life: Eric Bloom of the band asked him to play bass. A few years later, in 2007, Castellano switched from bass and became the full-time guitarist.
His cover of Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, in which he played every instrument and sung each harmony, went viral.
Today, Castellano continues to be a creative force in music. He sometimes works at his family’s music store in Staten Island, while also running a podcast called Band Geek, and continues to engineer and produce music.
Saturday Night Live welcomed Schitt’s Creek star Dan Levy (dad Eugene stopped by too) and musical guest Phoebe Bridgers for the smashing second episode of 2021.
Phoebe Bridgers is without a doubt the year’s breakout indie darling. Her 2020 sophomore album Punisher garnered four Grammy nominations, including Best Rock Song and Best New Artist. While there’s some stiff competition for the latter, including Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion, she’s one of the most acclaimed of the eight nominees.
Bridgers is also one third of the supergroup Boygenius, with Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus. On Thursday, February 4, she tweeted in support of Marilyn Manson’s accusers after sharing her own experience.
For the night’s first song, Phoebe performed “Kyoto,” the second single off the emo-folk Punisher, and one of the most upbeat offerings in her catalog. It concerns Bridgers’ tumultuous relationship with her father, and dissociating on a trip to Japan she took in February 2019. One of the song’s hardest hitting moments is the first line of the chorus, “I’m gonna kill you / If you don’t beat me to it.” Throughout the set, Phoebe and her band both wore her signature skeleton onesies.
After the more accessible “Kyoto,” Bridgers closed the night with Punisher’s final track, “I Know the End.” The apocalyptic song concluded with calculated cacophony: after her guitar solo, Bridgers yelled into the mic and smashed her guitar, joining the likes of SNL alums Arcade Fire, Nirvana and Cypress Hill.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LE5tafaayc
Tune into SNL next week, February 13, with host Regina King and musical guest Nathaniel Rateliff.
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 Paintbox Records Artists Senior Living, The Classical, and many more artists from across the Capital Region and Hudson Valley.
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.
On Sunday, February 7, WEQX will feature four cuts from the newly minted Paintbox Records Pallete release series. Among them are two songs from Senior Living and two songs from The Classical. Paintbox Records happened because the bands, who are all friends, were planning on touring together last year, but the pandemic prevented those road runs from happening.
But COVID-19 couldn’t stop this crew of creatives from making rock happen, thus Paintbox Records was born.
Also featured are new music debuts from two Albany groups – Fine Grain, “Missing Adult,” and Son of Gun “Cry all Night,” the latter off their forthcoming release Turn to Dust, due out February 12
Originally premiered on the Bonnaroo Virtual Roo-ality, Turkuaz played a set of Remain in Light alongside two Talking Heads members, Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew. Although the album came out in 1980, the legacy of the band and passion of the existing band members continues to carry on well into 2021.
Turkuaz Announce “Remain in Light” Shows with Talking Heads
Based in Brooklyn, Turkuaz is a band of nine members that strive to combine and perfectly balance harmonies of powerful voices, a variety of instrumentals, and an intense consonance incorporating elements from multiple genres.
Remain in Light and Talking Heads have been part of the soundtrack of our lives, and a huge inspiration to us as a band since day one. It was definitely unlike anything I had ever seen and is still unlike anything I have ever seen. It was right about the time we were starting this band. We wanted to cover their material as much as we could so we could get inside the arrangements and figure out what was going on—what made it feel that way and sound that way.
Dave Brandwein [ Turkuaz’s guitar/vocalist] on the collaboration with Talking Heads
Originally set to tour alongside Harrison and Belew in the summer of 2020, COVID-19 unfortunately interrupted their plans and derailed live music for the foreseeable future. Turkuaz’s “Ophidiophobia” had garnered a lot of excitement, having yet to be performed live, so it was added alongside the Remain in Light tour. As live concerts seem unlikely anytime soon and the band was itching to perform, Bonnaroo Virtual Roo-Ality offered them a chance to perform several setlists together to an adoring virtual audience.
The setlist consisted of “Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads, “Houses in Motion” by Talking Heads, “Ophidiophobia” by Turkuaz, followed by the final “Crosseyed and Painless” by Talking Heads. The chemistry between the band and Talking Heads members is evident in their performance and how perfectly they bounce off of each other’s vibe.
What a joy it is to be playing music with Adrian Belew again. Having recently produced music for Turkuaz, it was like I was introducing close friends who had never met. We all left the rehearsal very excited.
Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads on performing alongside the band
Meditation and mental well-being go hand in hand and there’s never been a period in time quite like the current that demands a positive mindset. Enter Sounds from the Bardo Volume II, presented by Psychedelic Sangha. This undertaking, an album-based series of immersive journeys into liminal states of consciousness, is the brainchild of Ethan Covey and Doc Kelley and a follow-up to Volume I which was released on Bandcamp this past December.
Spanning almost 90 minutes, this project was created to provide the means to meditate while immersing yourself into beautiful music as a means of finding inner-peace. It features Tony Leone on percussion, Scott Metzger on guitar and Jeff Hill on Bass and was recorded live in November at the Judson Memorial Church in NYC. The release consists of 4 tracks, which include a meditation and instrumental track, each containing the same jam performance with and without guided meditation, and 2 additional soundcheck jams from the same session. Additionally, this multi-media collection also includes a video of the full length original light show produced by Bubba Ayoub.
The meditation begins with Jessica Angima’s soothing voice helping to bring calm to your surroundings while Scott Metzger’s guitar begins to playfully dance around her words. As her words began to fade away, the trio begins their gentle improvisation into the soundscape. The journey they start is akin to a sunrise and sunset, slowly building and shining more light as the meditation progresses and flowing into ambient sounds as the hour reaches it end.
The delicate jamming begins to give way to delightful melodies halfway through journey and this continues to a beautiful crescendo before bringing the participant back to an ambient outro. The paths that this trio takes between each of Jessica’s guided meditations are a phenomenal example of what these three talented musicians are able to create together. This release is the first published recording of these three musical geniuses performing together and hopefully it’s not the last that we see of them collaborating together on something special.
Also included on this release are additional 2 soundcheck jams from Leone, Metzger and Hill. These bonus tracks continue the psychedelic energy that the trio brought to the meditation and show the trio stretching themselves and their abilities out, as you’d expect from any soundcheck. Both of these tracks flow between genres, tempos and energies while showcasing the themes and strengths that each of the artists would bring to their magnum opus. At the end of the second jam, you’ll find yourself agreeing with the band when you hear them exclaim, “We’re vibin’ so hard!”
Psychedelic Sangha’s Sounds from the Bardo Volume II will be released via Bandcamp on February 5th and can be purchased for a minimum of $12 USD. This release is a must-own for anyone who engages in or is considering dipping their toes into meditation, and certainly for everyone who is a fan of ambient jamming or improvisational soundchecks.
“Autumn,” the new single from T@NE, is a pop song of sensual proportions conveying the feeling of fresh kisses on your lips, romantic nights, and ecstasy. Autumn is sure to highlight what love is and can be.
Composed by T@NE and Be Steadwell and produced solely by T@NE, Autumn went through many musical stages. From the time T@NE and Be sat down at the piano and laid out its foundations, to the point of its completion where it became an epic pop song, one thing that stayed consistent throughout the writing process was the feeling and the vibe of the composition.
Album design by Fishman Art 89
“Autumn” is a step in a new direction for T@NE. The track exemplifies the diversity of T@NE’s sound, incorporating different pop elements to create the sensual vibe the song brings. While the sound of “Autumn” may stray away from the intricate jazz and rock heavy tones of T@NE’s debut single, “Rock Joint,” the quality of the track shows T@NE’s progression as an artist and producer.
T@NE – a musician, saxophonist, composer, producer, rapper, and vocalist – hails from Brooklyn. Growing up in a musical environment influenced T@NE’s deep love and passion for what he does. T@NE, along with his bandmates Taber Gable on keyboard, Andrew Renfroe on guitar, Dan Pappalardo on bass, and Peter Manheim on drums, are making music for the future. Incorporating elements from all genres of music and fostering a real sense of unity and teamwork allows T@NE’s music to be enjoyable, inspiring, and energizing to listen to.
