From his earliest days of musical self-expression, Harry Nichols has had deep passion for music and an ear for melody. He has released music independently since 2010 and continues to do so with his upcoming LP, Songs for the Rich and Beautiful.
Currently living and playing gigs around Ithaca, Harry Nichols announces his first full length album in 8 years, Songs for the Rich and Beautiful. The record, conceived during COVID lockdown 2020, is the result of a challenge with fellow Ithaca songwriter Samuel B. Lupowitz.
Songs for the Rich and Beautiful came out an eclectic, beautiful meditation on friendship, and testament to the power of camaraderie in the face of great difficulties. Both agreed to create new records, song for song responses, to each other’s efforts from 2012.
Songs on the album like “What’s Eternity?” have deep meaning and a nostalgic vibe when listening to the lyrics. Nichols pours his heart out to his audience about his past experience of nostalgia of his childhood growing up.
The song “Mecca” has an upbeat vibe that is incredibly catchy, yet the lyrics are more hitting to the heart. When trying to find the meaning in life, there are a ton of ups and downs. Nichols sings, “nothing goes as planned,” throughout the chorus.
Others songs like “Breathstroke” and portray a lighter side to the album, Harry Nichols gives us heavenly vocals and bright guitar chords. The song “Space Girl” also has amazing vocals and meaningful lyrics paired with Nichols guitar melody. Likewise, “Heteromasculine Lovegame” is quite the opposite, giving us a more fun indie/alternative upbeat song about how love and relationships can be such a game.
To check out more of Harry Nichols music, click on the link here to find more of his music on Bandcamp.
Produced by Brandon “Brick” Lohr and Jason “J” Hubert, the inaugural Ramble Festival held at Camp Ramblewood in Darlington, MD from October 7-9, transpired smoothly, as fans enjoyed nearly perfect fall weather near the Susquehanna, mere miles from Pennsylvania. Camp Ramblewood has held other music events, but Ramble Fest hosted a wide variety of bluegrass, brass, indie rock, blues, country, Americana and folk music from Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Indiana, Colorado, California, and many other states, with fans traveling from all over the US and internationally to enjoy fun in the sun with cool nights & campfire jams.
Headlined by Leftover Salmon, Keller Williams, and The Traveling McCoury’s, along with many local and national bands, Ramble Festival had numerous activities, a busking competition, kids’ shows and play areas, yoga, charity auctions & raffles, live art painters, an on-site art gallery, and numerous clothing, food & art vendors. Art Director Lindsay Jamison and her staff of volunteers spent weeks getting the site and the art gallery in the Beer Hall ready for the event. Street Team lead Will Gibbons also ran the instrument raffle, where two fans won a guitar and banjo signed by the headliners, with proceeds donated to Backline and Rage Against Addiction.
Camping was superb. Ramblewood has 200 pristine acres on a rolling hillside, with a lake, fire pits, large cabins, and wide fields, with ample trees & grassy shade. Food & drink vending was plentiful, including local microbrews, and food trucks with typical festival fare such as pizza & burritos, as well as veggie and farm-to-table options. There was onsite parking for the thousand or so attendees (though the lot nearly filled up during the peak on Saturday night). There were a few RV spots (no power & water hook-ups), as well as car camping, but the best camping was near the stages.
Fri. Oct. 7: Abby Bryant & The Echoes, Caleb Stine Band, Kendall Street Company, Rufus Roundtree & Da B’More Brass Factory, Arkansauce, Bella’s Bartok, Big Something, Keller Williams Grateful Grass feat. The Hillbenders, Kendall Street Company & Dirty Grass Players – late-night in the barn.
Friday started off smooth and sunny, with Rufus Roundtreee and his band leading a second line march from the campsites down the hill, where Abby Bryant & The Echoes kicked off the weekend on the Main Stage. Abby is a vocalist & guitarist from Charlotte (since relocated to Asheville), who performed a mix of soul & Americana, with great instrumental work by her band & cohort in songwriting, guitarist Bailey Faulkner.
A quick jaunt up the hill and past the food trucks brought us to the Beer Hall, an indoor stage with standing room for a thousand. Caleb Stine & Band treated us to cool country with a tinge of bluegrass. Kendall Street Company from Charlottesville next played on the Main Stage, with thoughtful and often funny lyrics, great harmonies, and energetic, punk stylings, deft guitarwork, sax, and engaging vocals by lead singer Louis Smith.
Back at the Beer Hall, Rufus Roundtree, who is from Parliament Funkadelic, led his band Da B’More Brass Factory on vocals & trombone, with fiery NOLA-style, Go-go tinged funk, supported by trumpet, sax, tuba, guitar & drums. Arkansauce next tore up the Main Stage with speedy banjo riffing by Adam Collins, Ethan Bush on mando, Zac Archuleta on guitar, and Tom Andersen on upright bass.
The wildness of Bella’s Bartok engaged our feet as we returned to the Beer Hall, with fast, energetic fiendish horns, driven by lead singer Asher Putnam, with Alex Kogut on accordion, synth, and keyboards, Riley Goodemote on trombone, and Julia playing feisty washboard. Mixing sonic styles of Googol Bordello with punk, folk, and klezmer music, an amalgam of genres and theatrical sensibilities. They were a new discovery to me, and fan favorites by the end of their set.
Big Something, a hip hop pop rock fusion jam band from Burlington, NC, heated up the Main Stage at sunset, with Casey Cranford’s signature EWI and sax work driving the melodies along with dueling guitar monstrosities Jesse Hensley and Nick MacDaniels, with Josh Kagel on keys and trumpet, Doug Marshall on bass and Ben Vinograd on drums holding it down. Stylistically chameleons, they drift from tight riffs to expansive jams, sometimes evoking Lettuce, other times Lotus, and at times channeling Umphrey’s McGee, basically all over the place, with aplomb.
The incredible sound and lights apparently challenged the main stage power generator, which failed shortly thereafter, and was not resurrected until the next day. This only major glitch of the weekend was trouble, but thankfully, the production team planned generous stage switchover times, so crews had time to migrate Keller Williams over to the Beer Hall. Stage Manager George Barrick reactivated that stage, which had prepared to close for the night.
Keller and The Hillbenders treated us to his widely-popular Grateful Grass set. The Beer Hall was a bit crowded, so staff asked fans to help move tables and chairs out of the way, which quickly added enough space to get everyone inside – just in time, since the only few raindrops of the weekend fell outside and chilled the night air as temperatures fell into the low 40s. Keller & friends treated us to a fun-filled set of Dead classics, including a killer Scarlet > Stranger, and a trippy They Love Each Other back and forth into and out of Cumberland Blues, followed by a lovely Bird Song > Cassidy [24-bit SBD/Stage Matrix recording by George Barrick].
No proper first day would be complete without a late night set, held in the Ramble Stage, aka “The Barn” (a nice, cozy place to warm up as temps dropped further at night). Kendall Street Company joined The Dirty Grass Players, which was the most musicians jammed onto that tiny stage. The Barn was well-appointed, with brass chandeliers, hanging flower arrangements and festive lighting. There were two late-night picking circles, one at the Hill Camp w/ Bella’s Bartok, and another down at the Lake Camp, with Deer Creek Sharpshooters & Fishing for Hippies to end the night.
Sat. Oct. 8 – Dogs in a Pile, Arkansauce, Armchair Boogie, Dirty Grass Players, Toothless (kids set), Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band, Underground Springhouse, AJ Lee & Blue Summit, Kyle Hollingsworth Band, Leftover Salmon, Neighbor.
After much-needed rest, I arose Saturday morning to the distant sounds of another second line by Naptown Brass Band from Annapolis, MD. I ran up the hill to meet them as they marched down into the main field and kicked off the day for Charm City Junction, towing along recently-rousted dancing campers, led by the Vibe Tribe‘s Holly Reasner.
Arkansauce fired up the Beer Hall next. Saturday Bands played with some overlap, as there were 17 or more performance on Saturday. Dogs in a Pile was another great band that all my friends recommended. They had a great turnout, especially since they started around 1pm, and many campers partied quite late the night before.
Baltimore’s finest, the Dirty Grass Players kicked it up in the Beer Hall, with some overlap with Armchair Boogie on the main stage, another new band I really enjoyed. Toothless played a kids’ set on the small barn stage. Underground Springhouse continued in the Beer Hall, while Caleb Stine returned in the barn.
We kicked our socks off to Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band (a funny name, because it’s only 3 people). Hailing from Indiana, the “Big” is for Jayme Peyton, who is a ginormous human as well as guitarist. They’re a wild country blues band, with heavy guitar shredding and “reckless” washboard by Breezy Peyton. Breezy actually lit her washboard on fire in the middle of a song!!! The band and audience had a good laugh; neither eyebrows nor hair were burnt in the process.
AJ Lee & Blue Summit, a bluegrass/Americana band from Northern California, continued at the Beer Hall, playing towards dinnertime. Heading back to the Main Stage, I wolfed down some tasty mac & cheese from Cosmic Charlie’s Grateful Grill, one of my favorite food trucks conveniently located between the two biggest stages.
Maryland native Kyle Hollingsworth (from String Cheese Incident) and his Band lit up the main stage, with a mix of organ and keyboard-infused jammy rock, tight & funky drums, bass & guitar. They played a variety of originals and classics, rearranged with speed & intensity, sprinkled with riffs & quotes from various well-known songs. Kyle is a killer clavinet and synth player, playing with percussive rhythm, electric piano and effects, his talented band adding fuel to his fire.
Ramble’s resident emcee, Libby Eddy (plays fiddle in The Jakobs Ferry Stragglers), got up to announce Leftover Salmon dressed as a giant avocado. She wrote page-long summaries of each band. As she rattled off superlatives, Vince Herman (in a blue unicorn costume) laughed and told the audience, “first time our band has ever been introduced by an avocado“! Ramble Festival founders Brick and J dressed as a tiger and bumblebee, to fit the costume theme, “furry creatures”.
Another favorite band, Neighbor (founded by Pink Talking Fish’s keyboardist Richard James), capped off Saturday night in the barn, followed by late-night campfire jams by Fishing for Hippies, Caleb Stine, Annie Sellick, and Pat Bergeson.
Sun. Oct. 9 – Travers Brothership, Country Current, AJ Lee & Blue Summit, Woody! kids set, Neighbor, Bella’s Bartok, Busking Competition, Empire Strikes Brass, Armchair Boogie, Pink Talking Fish, The Travelin’ McCourys, AJ Lee & Blue Summit, Arkansauce, & Armchair Boogie – late-night in barn.
Travers Brothership, based near Asheville, started the last day off with searing blues guitar intensity by frontman Kyle Travers, who formed the band with his twin brother and drummer, Eric. They’ve played all over the US & Europe, and are widely praised. Their new album is slated to be released next year, so they played a song or two off their new album.
The bluegrass band, Country Current, is the US Navy’s official band, formed in 1973. They’ve played for Presidents Bush, Clinton, Obama, and have toured nationally as well as overseas. They are all Musician Petty Officers, wearing their uniforms proudly on stage in the Beer Hall, playing guitar, banjo, bass, drums, fiddle, mando, and pedal steel guitar.
AJ Lee and Blue Summit returned to play the main stage, followed by Muskrat Flats in the beer hall, and another special kids’ set by Woody!, who is Jon Wood of Dancing Bears, ELM, Psycho Killers, and other Baltimore-based bands. His 7-yr-old daughter Ella helped her dad set up his mic and danced with her friends and other kids in the barn.
Neighbor treated us again to another tasty set on the main stage in the mid afternoon, followed by another wild dance party by Bella’s Bartok in the Beer Hall. The horn-heavy Empire Strikes Brass hit the main stage in the afternoon, and Armchair Boogie returned to the Beer Hall to close out the afternoon.
Pink Talking Fish brought resounding thunder and intermingling of songs by Pink Floyd, Talking Heads, and Phish to the main stage, as a massive flurry of bubbles filled the air and caught the brilliant light trackers scanning over the field, filling it with geometric patterns and a spectrum of color.
Emcee Libby Eddy introduced The Traveling McCourys as “the best band on the planet!!!” – the final headliner set of the weekend. This long, wonderful weekend of music ended with a joint collaboration between AJ Lee & Blue Summit, Arkansauce, and Armchair Boogie, packed into the barn with as many fans as could still stand or dance, with a couple more campfire jams that lasted until 3 or 4 am.
Few festivals are successful upon inception, but through great planning, Ramble Festival attracted over a thousand people to its first annual event. They sold a hundred tickets at the “steepest discount” to fans on site.
“It takes a village”. I met dozens of staff, volunteers, artists, campers, production crew from Harford Sound, lighting engineers, photographers & videographers, vendors, artists, medical personnel (Bear Care), and vendors. There were zero injuries or problems, nobody got stuck in the mud, the weather was absolutely perfect, and the camping is the best of any music event I’ve attended. Everyone was friendly, helpful, fun, and smiling all weekend.
Brick and J are music lovers first and foremost. They hired a skilled team, adept at multiple roles. They asked their friend Phil Chorney (Charm City Bluegrass) to recruit a wide cast of musicians from all over. Skilled directors & coordinators were carefully chosen for Volunteers, Artists, Hospitality (Sandee Taylor), Marketing (Kelsey Riegger) and Media Coordination (Zach Ubaldini), as well as staff photographers Chris Gamber among many other pros.
Some of these bands I’d heard about, and saw them for the first time at Ramble Festival, a sentiment shared by many fans. I’ve seen all the headliners multiple times, which got me interested when J told me about Ramble at B Chord. I did some research on only a few of the bands I hadn’t seen, which left the rest as pleasant surprises.
Ramble Festival was quite smooth, even though it’s only in its first year. Everyone felt like family, with an atmosphere reminiscent of Catskill Chill, Bear Creek, and High Sierra Music Festival. Brick, J, Phil, and their wonderful cast & crew deserve accolades for making Ramble the best music and art experience of the year.
Each Sunday evening from 7-9 p.m. 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 Ian Nichols, mrhs, and Northern Faces.
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.
Ian Nichols – “Killer Corpse”
Ian Nichols is a singer-songwriter from Albany who is an indie rock/ Lo-fi composer. His fourth full-length album is scheduled to be released in November. He has worked on various other projects and produced the score and music for the 2014 horror film Lake Nowhere. His single “Killer Corpse” will be played on EQXposure.
mrhs – “Old Fashioned Hurgusburgus”
mrhs are a synth-punk group from Albany. They recently released a new album, Poo Brain. The song “Old Fashioned Hurgusburgus” from that record will be played on EQXposure.
Northern Faces – “Feelings”
Northern Faces are a rock band formed in 2012. The band features Bryan Shortell and Marco Testa on vocals and guitars, and Matt Ippolito on bass.
Yes, it’s only October, and yes the high in Syracuse today was in the 60s, but some might say it’s never too early for Christmas music. On October 21, NYC-based Grammy winner Joanie Leeds and Grammy-nominated Fyütch released their first original song, “Every Day’s a Holiday.” The two released the song with an accompanying music video in advance of their holiday music project, Oy Vey! Another Christmas Album, releasing on November 4.
When Joanie Leeds discovered that most of our most-loved Christmas songs were written by Jewish people, it was particularly inspiring to her as a Jewish singer much lauded for her songwriting prowess — in addition to her Grammy, Leeds claimed first in the USA Songwriting competition and International Songwriting Competition as well as finalist in the John Lennon Songwriting competition.
Leeds was moved by the dichotomous spirit behind those Christmas tunes and thought the perfect way to honor the work of their original Jewish songwriters was through continuing their practice; so she started writing her own holiday music. The upcoming album will feature four covers of classic Christmas songs written by Jewish songwriters and two originals, co-written with Fyütch.
Though it feels early for Christmas, this new angle on the holiday season couldn’t come sooner, with Ye’s recent interviews and tweets that spread anti-semitic rhetoric to an avid audience of music devotees.
“I love our contribution to the holiday season and was excited to share my passion project with the world and write some new ones too, especially as anti-Semitism is on the rise,” Reeds said.
“Every Day’s A Holiday” is a fresh and fun take on a traditional Christmas song. It retains the classic choral sounds of the classics, but with a twist: it’s not just a Christmas song, it’s a song dedicated to all holidays. In “Every Day’s A Holiday,” Christmas trees, dreidels, thanksgiving turkeys, fireworks, easter eggs all exist in musical harmony. The video itself is campy and engaging, with Leeds and Fyütch dancing around each other, with props and instruments as cartoon holiday animations flash over the green screen behind them.
The album will be out November 4, and you can stream the single here and watch the video below.
Bands largely based in Chautauqua and Erie County show up on a bi-weekly basis to take the stage at the Main Street Studios venue in Fredonia. Initially making cassettes for local bands, Foxhead Record Company rented out the building.
Foxhead record company logo
Follow the closure of the North Pole Strip Club (NPSC) house venue on Main Street, Felix Kellogg, Jake King and Liam Powers, the founders of the Foxhead label, talked with the owner of the space about their idea of launching DIY-shows. “Since we got to Fredonia, there was always live music going on”, explained King, “and it was always upperclassmen running it”.
(Credit: foxheadrecordco Instagram)
He pointed out there being a need for people to organize shows and Liam Powers also added in a prior lack of places for shows to happen, following the the North Pole Strip Club closing. The recognition of a need for performance outlets in town led to the transition of the company from focusing on making cassettes for bands to extending their business, bringing live concerts at one of the most popular venues in Fredonia.
Listen to Jake, Liam and Felix discuss more about the formation of their record company, the Fredonia music scene, and more in an exclusive interview below.
Interview with founders of Foxhead Record Company:
https://youtu.be/EG0mNXaG9Hw
A Fredonia-based artist, under the moniker Soup Kale and lead singer of the alternative band Karrot Kake, who performed at Main Street Studios on Saturday, 10/15, commented on the shift in the Fredonia music scene. In an interview below, he described a lot of jam bands being active in the area, along with reggae sounds being notable several years ago, before pop-punk more recently turned into the predominant element integrated in the scene.
Interview with Karrot Kake band musician Soup Kale:
https://youtu.be/t0kZki2MBDI
Interview with musician Soup Kale of Karrot Kake band
SAINT BLIND, real name Aaron, is another artist part of the line-up who performed at Main Street on the night of 10/15. He described working with many people involved in the Fredonia music scene, having joined multiple bands, including one with Jake King of Foxhead when he was in his teenage years, as well as composing a group known as the Blind Orchestra. The alternative/indie rock and synth-pop artist details more of his musical involvement and both upcoming and released works of his in an interview below.
Interview with musical artist SAINT BLIND:
https://youtu.be/RBNFz06i5TI
Interview with artist SAINT BLIND
Make sure to follow Foxhead on Instagram at @foxheadrecordco for updates on when shows are happening at Main Street Studios and original cassette releases. Also, follow Karrot Kake on Instagram @karrotkakemusic and on Spotify @Karrot Kake, and Kaleh @soupkale, as well as SAINT BLIND @saint_blind on Instagram to keep up with the latest news on their musical releases and performances.
NYC’s Sub Lights have just released their newest EP Half-Life, an album that describes how if you only live in the past or for the future, you miss the present. Thus,marking the duo’s second release following last year’s MedicineEP and a pair of successful debut shows in Manhattan.
The band has also released a new video for another track from this project, titled “Hell’s Kitchen Sink.”
To the artists, the challenge of making music as a duo has inspired them to put together a small studio in their new home in New York City, an effort that went into overdrive during the 2020 lockdowns. Their new Half-Life EP marks the duo’s second release, following last year’s Medicine.
“Big and brash electropop from this NY duo that centers blazing hooks amidst spiraling guitars and sizzling synths.”
Bandcamp New and Notable
“Music should be fun, it’s entertainment after all,” states Stephen. “But it’s also art and part of the purpose of art is to allow listeners to explore different ways of being. That’s our goal: to offer the chance to explore a bit of social consciousness along with fun.”
“Sub lights has a distinct electronic sound . . . sure to get you in your feels. . . . an incredible atmosphere. . . . creative and fun. More music from Sub lights is on the way; be on the lookout.”
Road Trips & Playlists
“The idea was to transform traditionally-written songs, mostly played on piano or acoustic guitar, into our indie-electronic style,” says the Stephen. “Lyrically, we wanted to try to capture the kind of social melancholy coming out of the pandemic and the Trump years, but then express that in a hopeful way. Like, life is tough and can be really sad, but even then people are amazing and able to find joy by connecting with each other. We also wanted to take our music seriously without taking ourselves too seriously—it’s a fine line, but I admire artists who can pull that off. But also I’m a college history professor and fairly politically active, so there’s always an element of the big picture mixed in there too, grand themes of what it means to be human and all that.”
“Half-Life has multiple meanings as it relates to the album,” continues Meredith. “It is one of the key lines in ‘Strange New Breed,’ and it is a way to describe how if you only live in the past or for the future, you miss the present, so essentially it feels like you are only experiencing half of your life at any given moment… It’s also my word for what deep depression feels like. All these missed opportunities, just watching life go by from your bed. ‘Black & White’ and ‘Rockville’ are songs about the past. ‘Traffic’ and ‘Hell’s Kitchen Sink’ are about living in the moment which is the only time we can experience the full interconnectedness of life, that we are all the same.”
“I think some of our songs conceptually resemble protest music,” says Merideth. “Common themes are anti-religion, anti-patriarchy, anti-unfettered capitalism, anti-fascism. Think for yourself, question things, wake up, be kind.”
Caffe Lena will present the third annual TrueSongs concert on Sunday, November 12th at 8pm, highlighting local lives changed for the better by Capital Region non-profits. The concert features previously untold redemption stories involving a local non-profit organization, each will be told in words and songs at Caffe Lena.
A young woman builds her life back after a stroke, two friends start a music shop in Haiti. A daughter finds peace and fulfillment in her final days with her mother, and a woman moves forward after homelessness. Each of these previously untold redemption stories involves a local non-profit organization, and each will be told in words and songs at Caffe Lena.
TrueSongs was created in 2019 by the Saratoga Springs music venue Caffe Lena to show how arts and social service organizations can work together to create a healthy, whole community. Now in its third year, TrueSongs will give five community members the chance to share their personal story with a live audience.
Each storyteller has been working with a songwriter who will follow the story with a compelling new song meant to bring out the emotional heart of the experience.
“We proudly partner with schools, churches and community centers throughout Haiti,” said Bill Cole, owner of Cole’s Woodwind Shop and founder of the non-profit Horns for Haiti. “The resilience of the Haitian people and their love of music has made it possible to implement projects during a very difficult time in this third world country. We’re providing musical instruments and supplies to hundreds of school children and also mentoring young entrepreneurs in starting their own sustainable businesses in the music industry.”
The TrueSongs Lyrics of Life concert will take place on Sunday, November 12th at 8p.m. at Caffe Lena. Tickets bought in advance are $20 to the general public and $10 for students. Tickets bought at the door are $22 for the general public. Likewise, $5 student rush tickets will be sold at the door with valid ID. The concert will also be available to live stream for free on Caffe Lena’s YouTube channel. For more information and to purchase advance tickets, click the link here.
Brooklyn alt-pop duo Fake Dad have just announced their newest aesthetic release “New Machines” out on November 10th. The single is dreamy yet electrifying, overall capturing the nostalgic experience of younger generations who have grown up in a world characterized by tragedy and fear.
This particular single reflects on global stressors like climate crisis, “New Machines” channels a care-free sound reflective of the consistent lack of seriousness society seems to meet very real issues with. “New Machines” is also a powerful follow-up to their most recent single, “Painkiller,” that caught the attention of esteemed indie music tastemakers like Ones to Watch and A1234, whopremiered the single.
“We hope that the upbeat sound on New Machines is motivating and empowering to anyone feeling dejected, anxious, and emotionally burdened. Most of all, we hope this makes every listener feel a little less alone in this scary mess of a world.”
– Fake Dad
Fake dad fans still obsess over their anthemic June single“How Do I Cry?,” which landed itself on eight major Spotify editorial playlists like All New Indie and Indie Arrivals. Fake dad release some of the most aesthetic songs and share their conceptual ideas with their listeners. Thus, their newest single “New Machines,” which is dreamy yet electrifying with a nostalgic taste, will surely do that.
Fake dad, also known as Andrea de Varona and Josh Ford, have made music together in their studio apartment since 2018. The duo had designated their roles within the band and have worked with a variety of up and coming artists. Both artists come from different musical backgrounds, but they do share one common goal. And that goal is to create something that understands the listener. Both Andrea and Josh wanted to create music that comforted people, especially if the listener had a rough day in life, stated in a previous article from NYS Music.
To listen to Fake dad’s newest release “New Machines,” click the link to Soundcloud here.
And to read more about Fake dad from NYS Music, click the link here.
The Water Street Hall-O-Ween show will take place on Friday, October 28, featuring local and regional Rochester bands have the opportunity to perform on the Hall stage, performing as another band. There will also be a haunted house in The Club, curated by Casey Arthur, as well as a costume contest.
poster by Sadie May
Water Street Music Hall is located alongside the Genesee River and has been Rochester’s premier music venue since 1999. With more than 20 years of shows with artists from Ashanti to St. Vincent, we look forward to continuing our mission of bringing the finest musical acts to the ROC.
The lineup of bands and their musical costumes includes:
Formed in 2017 by Hamilton and Mullen, Ghost Light performed at festivals and lightly toured throughout 2018 and 2019 before their momentum was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The Healing was recorded at Hamilton’s studio The Ballroom in Philadelphia.
The album opens with title track “The Healing,” where Hamilton and Mullen’s harmonies are immediately put on display in the song’s emotional and folk-tinged vibe. The track ends with a rocking and heavily distorted guitar solo that fades into feedback.
Bowling’s keyboards really shine on “Faces in the Moon” and “Take Some Time” – both Mellotron and synthesizers contributing to a gorgeous textural backdrop to the high-quality lyrics and guitar fireworks from Hamilton and Mullen.
“Up Here Forever” has one of Mullen’s strongest vocal performances in an almost Broadway-like song full of raw emotion.
“Opening Credits”, unusually placed in the middle of the album, begins with a mellow guitar soundscape that is slowly joined by piano and then an arpeggiating bass line from Shell. The repeating motifs gradually grow more dissonant as the bass is augmented by a distortion effect. Sweeping waves of Mellotron bring the music to a crescendo before Zwang introduces a slow, pounding and cymbal-heavy groove as each member of the band contributes their piece to the massive wave of sound. Crashing into the shore, we are left with guitar, piano, and Mellotron as the track fades out.
Picking up where the previous track left off, “Sweet Unlimited” and “Dig a Hole” both are built upon the incredible chemistry of rhythm section Zwang and Shell as Bowling continues to excel on Wurlitzer. Dialing up a wide palette of guitar tones from compressed and distorted to ethereal and reverb-drenched, Hamilton really shines on these tracks.
The final track, “Don’t Say Goodnight Just Yet”, opens with a strong bassline from Shell as Bowling plays with synths. Zwang holds down a steady beat throughout the upbeat closing song as it acts as sort of an emotional climax to the album – many of the previous tracks having a darker and more melancholy tone to them. We are left the same way we began the song, with Shell’s strong bass.
The Healing is a fantastic addition to Ghost Light’s catalogue, capturing the band’s studio sound – layers of acoustic and electric guitar atop a solid foundation of keyboards, drums, and bass. One drawback that Best Kept Secret had was a “kitchen sink” approach, with overdubs of percussion and extra instruments almost to the point of extreme – The Healing is a breath of fresh air in comparison, a recording where you can clearly pick out each of the members’ contributions without getting muddled.
Ghost Light return to the road in December for a series of dates on the West Coast.
