NYS Music 202​2

Category: Podcast

  • Rising Like a Phoenix, Kelli Baker Never Fails to Impress

    The Long Island music scene has a star with a trajectory rising like a Phoenix out of the music halls around town. Meet Kelli Baker, a transplant from Arizona, who has momentum unlike anyone.  This soulful singer is a cross between Amy Winehouse and Susan Tedeschi. Her original music erupts in an emotional whirlwind as she draws you in. 

    I had the chance to interview Kelli Baker on The Long Island Sound podcast back in June and her rise to prominence has been something to behold. After the passing of her dad several years ago, Kelli packed her bags and headed for Huntington Village, on the Northshore of Long Island.  Her energetic live performance is insync with her go-for-it attitude and work ethic.  Continuing with skills in hospitality, Kelli worked several jobs while gigging around the village with her bag of cover songs and an occasional original song snuck into the mix. 

    With a chuckle in her voice, this starling belts out emotional verses with the ease of a carnival barker. She connects with her audience as she calls us into the curiosity of her sideshow.  The circus of sideshow gigs as a result has landed Kelli on the main stage. She was recently signed to the parade of Sony Music artists this past January under the Bad Jeu Jeu CDX Record label.  

    The hard work and song writing has seemed to have payed off, as she landed Monster Cables as a sponsor and just a few days ago She also landed a spot on Spotify’s Editorial Playlist, Blues Roots among some of the top names in the business, Jon Baptist, Tedeschi Trucks, and The Black Keys.

    Blood on the Nile 

    Her recent single release, Blood on the Nile hit the airwaves on September 9th. Recorded in Cove City Sound Studios in Glen Cove, It features another guest on the podcast, Brother Dave (Solomon) . Dave is an excellent slide and lap steel guitar player also featured as a guest on the podcast. 

    Kelli Baker acoustic guitar
    Kelli Baker
    Kelli Baker – Blood On the Nile

    The song, Blood on the Nile invites you in with the call of a pedal steel guitar, and slowly builds to a crescendo of emotion as Kelli exudes a passion that only a heart with scars can comprehend. Her catalog of songs are deep and insightful. The track, Cathedral released early in 2020 sets a scene as the bells toll for thee and me. The exploration of Kelli’s music has just begun for me. She tailored her sound both as a solo performer in the music halls, wineries, bars and pubs, from North Shore to the South Shore and to points East on the Island. 

    Gathering excellent band members around her, Ms. Baker embarked on a Summer tour along the East Coast to excellent reviews.  This past month the Kelli Baker duo opened for the all female Swedish band, Thundermother at the Paramount in Huntington.  

    This exploration into Kelli Baker’s music has just begun. I could wax poetic with flowery prose, but after seeing her performance at the Blue Point Brewery, this past August, I left the venue having gone through a memorable experience, weary with emotion and thirsting for more.

  • Bluegrass Among the Damn Tall Buildings

    Bluegrass grows among the Damn Tall Buildings in Brooklyn. Music discovery is quite an expedition; you never know what you’re going to find. Brooklyn is a melting pot, with its cacophony of beautiful genre influences, which can be heard moment by moment as you walk down its litered city streets. Discovering the band, Damn Tall Buildings is an absolute joy. 

    Assembled now as a trio, this Americana-Bluegrass band hails from various points around America, from Montana, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire. Max Capistran is the main lyricist, playing guitar and banjo while contributing vocals. Avery Ballotta, plays the fiddle and banjo and vocal harmonies. Sasha Dubyk completes the vocal trifecta with her beautiful voice while playing the Upright Bass. 

    damn tall buildings

    On September ninth, they released their latest album, Sleeping Dogs. Playing their album and getting to know the band, I interviewed two members on the The Long Island Sound podcast. Max Capistran, and Avery Ballotta recounted their beginnings and their decade -long relationship which resulted in a friendship that is clearly exposed in their newly released album. Starting out as buskers on Newbury Street in Boston, they began touring nationally, and then moved the band to Brooklyn in 2017. They connect in the day to day interactions and hope their music brings joy to be spread around.

    “Our innate desire is to connect with people on a level that’s beyond day-to-day interaction. Our hope is that the joy that making this music brings us will somehow get passed along to the people listening, which they can then take with them to pass along to someone else. It’s a shared celebration of positive energy, and that’s what keeps us cooking.”

    Damn Tall Buildings

    Popping their album, Sleeping Dogs into my car CD player, yes I still have a CD player, I was able to digest the essence of their music into my subconscious. The result brought a smile to my face and a hop in my step.It may do the same for you. 

    The curiosity lies in wondering why three people from diverse parts of our country would decide to settle Brooklyn? I have been to Montana. Fearing an extended stay would keep me in that heavenly place, my vacation soon ended and I was back to the  familiarity of taxes and traffic on Long Island. Why anyone, with roots in paradise, would transplant themselves to Brooklyn is still a mystery. No disrespect to the “forgetta-bout-it” borough, but I wonder why?   Maybe this new resignation from a rural existence is a lesson on how to immerse yourself into a metropolitan culture to get your creative juices flowing.

    A Band Built on a Solid Foundation

    New Album “Sleeping dogs”

    Damn Tall Buildings has been around as a group for the past ten years,  Max, Avery (a.k.a. Montana) and Sasha  met in college at the Berkelee School of Music in Massachusetts. They honed their craft by literally playing on the street.  What a great incubator for this Bluegrass-Americana band to grow. You’ll find that the album, Sleeping Dogs, is much more than a toe-tapping exercise in Bluegrass-Swing style music.The band invites us into their living room to experience their music. Their style is stripped down to the essentials, a standup bass plucked by Sasha, Banjo, a guitar fenesed by Max  and Montana’s fiddle bringing it all together. Add some select harmonies, the twang of Max’s voice and you’ve got something special.

    Their sound fits like an old coat, that’s weather worn, yet comfortable. A cloth that carries you through the seasons of your musical journey. The band makes you feel at home, warmed by the fires of a hearth, alongside your sleeping dog.   

    Discovering a well-spring of talent in New York is a worthwhile endeavor. The streams of creativity in Brooklyn and the rest of Long Island may have many flavors and are drawn from distant sources, but the satisfaction comes from drinking it all in. 

    Until next time, be generous with your joy, and let the music take you on a journey!

    The Long Island Sound Podcast can be found at GigDestiny.com or wherever you listen to your podcasts. We feature original singer/songwriters and showcase some of their songs, as you get to know the artist behind the music.

  • Chuck Garvey gives Health Update on First Episode of Podcrash

    Chuck Garvey shared a health update this week on Podcrash as he continues to recover from a stroke he suffered in November 2021. 

    chuck garvey podcrash

    A new podcast from the band, Podcrash features all members addressing all things moe. In the new episode, Harvey shared that he was first and foremost ‘getting some speech going on’ as the most important part of recovery. Garvey went on to say “I just wanted to talk. When I woke up I just wanted to see everyone that I’ve ever known.”

    It was great to see you guys, but I couldn’t say what I wanted to say so that was hard. Working on the speech is because I want to talk to everybody and now all the stuff … getting back on my feet was a big thing so I could get out of a chair was the next thing. And then the next thing was getting my hand to work so I could play.

    Chuck Garvey

    “Working on everything to get the fine motor skills on my hand is really big because I want to play again,” explained Chuck. “I want to play with the band. I want all the fun things that we can do with music is … I want to try that again.”

    Chuck Garvey will miss moe.’s upcoming shows this summer, including at Summer Camp Music Festival this weekend, with Suke Cerulo (Schleigho) and Nate Wilson (Assembly of Dust, Percy Hill) filling in. Discover how their recent Monkeys on Ecstasy show at Empire Underground in Albany unfolded.

    The full episode is now available via moe.org and all podcast services. Spotify | Apple | Google | Amazon 
    More info at moremusic.at/moespodcrash

    moe. 2022 Summer Tour
    Thurs, May 26 – Sun, May 29 – Chillicothe, IL – Summer Camp Music Fest
    Fri, June 10 – Norfolk, VA – HarborFest
    Sat, June 18 – Philadelphia, PA – City Bisco 2022
    Wed, July 6 – Albany, NY – Empire State Plaza Concert Series
    Thurs, July 7 – Buffalo, NY – Buffalo Outer Harbor
    Fri, July 8 – Marshfield, MA – Levitate Music Festival
    Sat, July 9 – Patchogue, NY – Great South Bay Music Festival
    Sun, July 10 – Seaside Heights, NJ – Live at the Heights, The Beach Stage
    Fri, September 2 – Jay, VT – Jay Peak Resort
    Sat, September 3 – Sun, September 4 – Lake George, NY – Adirondack Music Festival^
    Fri, September 23 – Sat, September 24 – St. Helena, CA – Blue Note at the Charles Krug Winery

    ^ Official announcement and on-sale date TBD

  • Season 3 of Undermine Examines Phish’s Baker’s Dozen

    Phish’s Baker’s Dozen is the focus of the new season of Undermine, from Osiris Media. The legendary 13-night run featured the Vermont jamband performing over 250 songs with no repeats over 13 nights at The Garden.

    baker's dozen undermine

    In exploring this remarkable feat, Undermine Season 3 features interviews with Scott Bernstein (Jambase), Jesse Jarnow (WFMU, After Midnight), musicologist Dr. Jake Cohen, and more, plus conversations with a bevy of fans who were lucky enough to catch all 13 shows.

    For those unfamiliar, in July and August of 2017, Phish called Madison Square Garden home for a three-week stretch of shows that has come to define the peak of the current era, while pushing them forward musically and creatively in the five years since. By incorporating thematic gags, rare songs, a focus on improvisation, and a commitment to not repeating a single song, the Baker’s Dozen exemplified risk-taking and boundary-pushing music that cemented Phish’s place in rock history. 

    The Baker’s Dozen was a major milestone in Phish history, which solidified their place in rock history—no repeats in 13 shows, moments of improvisation that will be remembered forever, and a banner that still hangs in the building to this day. We’re so excited to give Phish fans, and music fans, a picture of how this historic run of 13 concerts came together, and how they were experienced and now remembered by many members of our community.

    RJ Bee, CEO of Osiris Media

    Throughout this third season of Undermine, listeners can explore the Baker’s Dozen with a focus on the operational planning and execution of the run, as well as through conversations with rock journalists who captured the importance of The Baker’s Dozen in rock history. The history of Madison Square Garden, a focus on setlist crafting and improvisation are highlighted with a focus on the larger context of these features in rock history, as well as the impact of the run on Phish’s career since.

    baker's dozen undermine

    Episode 1, out now, takes a broad overview of The Baker’s Dozen, and takes a deep dive into the history of the band at Madison Square Garden, as well as the rich history of the venue itself. The first episode can be found on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

    Revisit NYS Music’s coverage of the Baker’s Dozen with photo galleries and recaps of each of the 13 nights here.

  • “Dead and Gone” Podcast Returns for Season 2

    The “Dead and Gone” podcast by Payne Lindsey and Jake Brennan returns for season two on April 6. The new season of the true crime podcast will investigate new unsolved murders relatedly to the Grateful Dead.

    Season two will focus on four unsolved cases spanning from the 1980s-2000s, all of whom bear some connection to the Grateful Dead: Adam Katz, Jennifer Wilmer, Bridget Pendell-Williams, Jeremy Alex. Each of these cases was supposed to be featured in season one before until Payne and Brennan decided to dedicate a full season to these cases.

    Season one discussed the investigation into the 1986 double murder of Mary Regina Gioia and Gregory Allen Kniffin. Through an “a mysterious tip from a fellow Deadhead” Payne had reason to the case’s ruling had led to a wrongful conviction.

    Episode one of the new season, which will be avaialble on all podcast platforms will recap season one and introduce the case of Adam Katz. The 19-year-old who was killed outside of what is now Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford New Jersey after a Grateful Dead concert on Oct. 14, 1989. Subsequent episodes will detail the investigations of the remaining three cases.

    Payne Lindsey is the co-founder of Tenderfoot TV. The company’s first podcast was the popular “Up and Vanished” true crime podcast series which has been downloaded 350 million times. He is also the creator and host of popular “Atlanta Monster, “ “Dead and Gone” and “Radio Rental”.

    Jake Brennan is a music journalist who created the podcast series Disgraceland, a true crime podcast about notable cases in the music industry. In 2020 Disgraceland won the iHeartRadio Best Music Podcast award. It is the most downloaded music podcast in the world. Brennan is also the co-founder of podcasting company Double Elvis.

    New episodes will be released every Wednesday starting April 6.

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