NYS Music 202​2

Category: Buffalo

  • An Interview with Ani DiFranco

    Ani Difranco, a legend in the indie music scene since the early 90s, hails from Buffalo and got her start playing Beatles covers at local bars, as well as busking alongside guitar teacher Michael Meldrum. A graduate of the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts High School, Difranco began attending classes at Buffalo State College at age 16 and founded Righteous Babe Records, in 1989 at age 19.

    ani difranco

    DiFranco’s Babeville is a multi-use facility devoted to the arts built inside a 19th century Gothic Revival-style church that was rescued from the wrecking ball to become a home for home for the arts in downtown Buffalo.

    According to the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame, DiFranco manufactures all her albums in Buffalo, uses the services of Western New York companies for all her products and employs a staff at her downtown Buffalo offices, thus making both an artistic and economic contribution to her hometown of Buffalo.

    Rob Smittix of The Xperience Monthly spoke to DiFranco recently, discussing her then-upcoming show at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, songwriters, up-and-coming musicians, as well as Buffalo and her current home of New Orleans.

    AD: Hey is this Rob?

    RRX: It is.

    AD: It’s Ani calling.

    RRX: I recognize your voice, how are you?

    AD: I’m good.

    RRX: I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me. I’m excited about talking to you.

    AD: Aw shucks. You’re in Troy?

    RRX: Currently, I’m across the river but you’re coming to Troy November 11th to The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. It’s a beautiful theatre, have you played there before?

    AD: Oh wow, I don’t think so. Although my life is a bit of a blur.

    RRX: Well speaking of your life being a blur… you may or may not remember this but my boss here, Art Fredette and his best friend Jim Barrett used to own a record store called Positively 3rd Street in Troy. He said years ago before you really made a name for yourself, you actually came into the store dropped off cassettes and I imagine you had an acoustic with you because they say that you played a few songs.

    AD: I mean, I believe it.

    (Both Laugh)

    AD: I believe that happened. Who’s to say what memory is ? Feels like a memory, yeah.

    RRX: I’ve hear that story a few times and it really made an impression on them.

    AD: I mean those were the days. I would literally bring in my cassettes to indie stores in the region and that’s how it all started. Supportive local people who are like okay local chick, what do you got? You know?

    RRX: But you were really out there hustling for yourself.

    AD: Just trying to make a living without a whole lot of backup.

    RRX: That’s great. What I’m saying, is that you really started out DIY before DIY became the big movement that it’s become today. Being independent, having your own record label and doing it on your own way before it became the trend, is really cool. Every album you’ve put out was on your label (Righteous Babe Records), if I’m not mistaken.

    AD: In one sense it’s always been there, you know? Where’s the line between? There’s local musicians in every community playing around and getting local audiences. Maybe they’re making a recording and selling them at their gigs. It seems kind of silly. I know that I’m kind of indie-girl USA and often touted for propelling the music industry into it’s new future but in another sense it’s very simple; don’t stop, keep rolling with that and f**k all of the assumptions about where you go from there.

    RRX: I respect that! Well that’s cool. I’ve been in a band for years but as we know, only a handful of people actually make it in the business. That’s a dream come true for so many of us. So for people that have made it and that are recognized… that leads me to the question, what are your dreams now? What do you aspire for now?

    AD: As you were asking your question I felt the urge to pushback about… even just what making it means. Along the theme of what we are talking about, you’re a musician, I’m a musician. I think anybody that makes a place for music in their life and can carve out that place somehow and make music in a way that sets them free. If it puts them in touch with their body, themselves and their community, people they play music with or for, maybe it’s a solitary thing but if it helps you process your life and be a healthy, happy person… that’s success!

    RRX: Sure.

    AD: So to finish answering your question, I think holding onto that. That’s all I want. I mean there’s nothing like a pandemic to to refresh my capacity to appreciate my job. After all of these decades it’s still a job. I think if there’s anything I want to do moving forward it’s to stay in touch with my joy of playing music and my purpose of it. Even though it is a f**king job, for me.

    RRX: Right, right, but it’s a job that you enjoy and you do have some control over which is really cool as well. That at least I can relate to. I work in radio and for this magazine that we’ve got going on and that’s a dream come true for me. Now do you keep a dream journal?

    AD: Um.. no, I barely keep a waking journal. Who has time?

    RRX: I kept a dream journal for a really short period of time but then I realized that you can’t always control your dreams and I don’t want anybody reading this stuff.

    AD: Oh, yeah there’s that. I somehow let my journal leak into the wider world, I don’t know if I’d recommend it.

    RRX: Wow, yeah that could certainly backfire. So because I just like to chat and not really do your standard interview, I just wanted to ask what’s been going on in your life? What’s been on your mind? That sort of thing?

    AD: Getting back to touring a lot, which is still just a little bit unhinged. The pandemic changed everything for everybody. Many people that I’ve been working with just splintered in different directions, starting over and the chaos of the touring industry. The whole ride-along of trying to deal with Covid protocols. You feel a little like you’re on the Muppet Show where people are just exploding around you. And the buses… I don’t know if you realize that there were no bus drivers because they all had to go and do something else.

    RRX: Wow, no I didn’t even think of that.

    AD: There were no buses, we were thrown into vans. It’s just been chaotic but really the divides of the shows an audiences are so high. I’ve been really looking towards the elections and trying to get people registered “A” and “B” excited about f**king changing this sh*t! There are a lot of exiting, young, diverse candidates out there, people stepping up to the plate and running for office. I just feel very strongly about supporting this movement to reclaim democracy and diversify government. I’m really excited about organizations like Run For Something. It’s crowd sourced funding of all of these different progressive candidates, in a lot of different areas. You may not have somebody specifically in your neck of the woods that you are super-jazzed about voting for but a victory somewhere is a victory everywhere. Then there’s Emily’s List, which I’ve been involved with for years, that supports pro-choice female and non-binary candidates. All of these organizations that you can contribute to and help people get their foot in the door and help politics be less controlled by the rich.

    RRX: Yeah, I’m really tired of it coming down to the lesser of the two evils.

    AD: Right.

    RRX: I was just thinking, really… why do we always put up with these choices? There’s how many? 330,000,000 people or something like that in America, so I think we can do better.

    AD: It seems like it’s cracking open. It’s changing and all we have to do is throw our weight behind this change and we can make it happen.

    RRX: I’ve got to say and I am generalizing, there certainly are exceptions but I’ve got three kids and I’ve listened to them and I’m not knocking the newer generations but it seems as though many of their priorities and values are compromised. A generation that never knew the world without the internet. Kids that are more concerned about TikTok and social media than anything else. Even video games have some responsibility for the way the minds of our youth have developed. I mean there are 7 year olds who have gotten their hands on Grand Theft Auto. It desensitizes them. But the youth are the future and we need to focus on them.

    AD: For sure but all of this new technology is completely unregulated, it blindsided even our ability. They want to convince you that government is bad and regulation is bad but of course that’s from the perspective of the overlords. They don’t have to be regulated they have the ability to maximize their profits, no matter what. Government is supposed to protect the little guy. Is business protecting us from itself? Or is it government? Which do you think is going to work better? It’s difficult but I believe in order to get this technology under control so that it can do more good than harm to our young people and our future. As a society we have to get the right regulations in place to counteract the insidious negative effect of the invisible algorithm and the downside of connectivity.

    RRX: Also with the youth today, I’ve got to say the music is not helping. The messages that a lot of this music is pushing… and I know we grew up with records that our parents wanted to destroy but it just seems that it’s gotten way worse. Especially the image that woman are portraying in the Hip Hop scene. It’s not what I would want my daughter listening to but kind of hard to ignore it because that’s what they’re putting out now and that’s what is selling.

    AD: There’s a big world out there and it’s all in the palm of their hand.

    RRX: At least there are artists like yourself that do exist and do have good messages to spread. You’ve got something to say, unfortunately a lot of artists are just trying to capitalize on what will sell regardless.

    AD: I feel really strongly about trying to adopt a stance of revolutionary love which hopefully I can employ into everything that I do.

    RRX: It’s a double-sided coin as well because I’m not about art censorship, so even though I don’t like the messages that they’re putting out, it’s freedom of speech, they should be able to do it. I guess the problem is that the quote unquote “industry” wants to get this filth into kid’s ears. On another note, I was hanging out with my keyboardist last night he reminded me about Babeville. I’ve never been but I’ve really got to get up there.

    AD: It was a huge undertaking that’s for sure and it’s a beautiful venue. It’s several venues really and an art gallery, it’s a little scene in this old cathedral. There’s a cool club down in the basement. That building was slated for demolition like so many buildings in Buffalo. Beautiful architectural treasures that because of poverty…

    RRX: Urban blight.

    AD: Like so many cities in The Rust Belt. But it was going to be torn down. We started action to to save the building then our karma was wrapped up in it. I remember the summer that basically two dudes spent hand digging out the basement.

    RRX: Oh my God!

    AD: We couldn’t get a backhoe in there and literally the basement had to be dug from 5 feet headroom to whatever it is. Two dudes! Everything of Righteous Babe went into it but actually in more recent years, I personally have moved on. My partner in Righteous Babe continues on with that venue and I’m down in New Orleans with the record company.

    RRX: I was gonna ask if you were still down in New Orleans.

    AD: Yup.

    RRX: I’ve just seen pictures of Babeville online, so I had to bring it up. It’s really cool that you brought it back to life. I imagine the place is probably haunted. So I don’t want to take up any more of your time. Was there anything else that you wanted to say?

    AD: Well for the show itself, I’m going t be playing with Todd Sickafoose on bass and keys. I’ve been playing with him for about 25 years now, my left hand man. We’re also going to be playing with a completely new drummer Jharis Yokley, so that’s radical and exciting.

    RRX: Definitely.

    AD: The openers are the The Righteous Babes Revue, which is a super group of Righteous Babe artists that are coming together to do these shows and play each other’s songs. It’s really so many awesome and talented babes that are currently on the label that will be opening the show and sitting in with us. This should be a really fun tour

    RRX: Well I really appreciate your time. It’s really been a pleasure and I hope you enjoyed yourself as well.

    AD: Absolutely, likewise and thank you.

    Interview originally published in The Xperience Monthly.

  • Hearing Aide: Ian McCuen Settles In Despair On ‘Westward to Nowhere’

    Westward expansion. An 80+ year stretch marked by hope, oppression, sorrow, and death. For Ian McCuen, it serves as a provocative metaphor for a life of disappointment and a world of heartbreak on their fifth album, November’s Westward to Nowhere.

    It’s not the first record inspired by grief and the idea of travel. Modest Mouse did the same thing twice in the 90s to massive acclaim. What sets the Buffalo indie folk musician’s concept album apart though is its consistent and clear narrative, which progresses towards its natural finish by the end of the project’s behemoth 18-track, 80 minute run.

    Cover art for ‘Westward to Nowhere.’

    The early going of Westward to Nowhere depicts McCuen’s character as a damaged and traumatized young adult who anticipates and hopes for better things with a change of scene. The lo-fi acoustic opener “Westward” introduces the album’s historical symbolism with the noises of a train and the repeated closing line “westward home, westward home, and I know that I must go,” a phrase which is made a motif via the three interludes found across the record.

    Follow-up track “Independence, MO” is a fuzzy but light indie rock song about the “thrill of anticipation” for starting new, coming before lead single “Lonesome Homesteader” (or “Lonesome Dreamer” according to the album listing), a gloomy acoustic ballad spaced out by stretches of organ and banjo. “I walk for miles at a time, daydreaming of a place that’s always mine,” McCuen sings on “Lonesome Dreamer.

    This continues onto the waltzy “California Bound,” where McCuen analogizes seasonal change with grief and recovery, hoping that change of scenery will “wash away past trauma.” The same goes for the synth and violin-laden “Beatrice, NE,” where McCuen dreams of traversing the Great Plains and scaling the Rockies. “Goodbye Beatrice, so much world left to see,” they sing on one of several tracks that personally address the pinpointed location on McCuen’s journey.

    Musically, Westward to Nowhere is highly consistent and consistently melodic. McCuen’s near whispered falsetto heavily reminisces of Elliott Smith, with their low-key acoustic approach and sentimental subject matter also ringing true of the legendary singer-songwriter. This tonal steadiness doesn’t mean a lack of variety in texture or instrumentation though, with McCuen’s parts on guitar, piano, organ and more being complemented by guest musicians such as Lissa Reed on cello and Sally Schaefer on violin. Reverb-heavy moments of guitar noise add contrast to long stretches of acoustic subtlety on songs such as “American Retreat.” There’s “The Plea,” which closes its six minute runtime with a biting and bluesy guitar solo and hints of trombone. All makes for an experience which sonically conveys McCuen’s sorrow in an affecting and musically accessible fashion.

    While primarily personal, Westward to Nowhere has its political moments too, “The Plea” being explicitly so. “Can’t you hear the chanting, ‘no justice no peace,’ how much fucking longer we gonna let Kansas bleed,” McCuen asks on the final verse’s closing line.

    There’s also the on-the-nose “Running Still (Worker’s Hymn),” a mostly acapella anthem where they sing in the first person about working class strife with exploitation, and the heartful late-placement ballad “American Retreat” which addresses Native American genocide, abandonment of military veterans, and general lies from “the lofty speak of what an infinite frontier provides.”

    Such cynicism defines the rather hopeless back half of Westward to Nowhere. There’s “Letter,” on which Ian McCuen pens letters to a sister, an old friend, and a former lover, detailing fun reminiscence, regret, but most of all, agonizing over the distance created from these loved ones. “I can hardly recognize where I’m heading or from where I came,” they observe over the light drumming of the song’s chorus. “On my shoulders lays the blame.”

    McCuen’s journey away from misery has made life even more hopeless, something fully emphasized in the album’s final three tracks. There’s the upbeat organ/violin-driven “Lonesome Drunkard” with its alcoholism play-by-play, followed by the overpowering gloom of nine-minute “Deadwood, SD,” which takes their sadness to suicidal levels.

    McCuen forecasts themselves as “face first in the dirt with a bullet in the brain” and “just another number in the morgue,” and reminds of the album’s historical symbolism by alluding to “repeated failed attempts at finally striking gold. In the last few minutes, over a subtly building assembly of piano, guitar, , McCuen echoes frustration with a disgustingly wrong promise, singing “I’m so fucking sick and tired of hearing ‘Westward Home,’ after all this time I still don’t know where the hell I belong.”

    No point is more bleak though than the closing track “Nowhere.” The train from the end of “Westward” returns, not to take McCuen on a life changing journey, but to take them out. “My brain and my body have given out on me, so I’m giving in to let these tracks take me,” they sing after two minutes of desolated acoustic guitar playing. McCuen’s echoey vocals and the track’s eerily sparse musical framing make this a haunting self-eulogy, as they talk about an eradicated sense of youthful optimism, reflect on a life of unfulfilled self, and envision a memorial not consisting of any heartfelt tributes, but “just regret for my days.”

    Westward to Nowhere begins with a clear point and ends on a resounding personal message: the grass isn’t always greener elsewhere. Change of scene and change of personal direction don’t always lead away from misery. It may lead nowhere, and it might make life more isolating than ever imaginable. Originally aiming for California, McCuen never got farther west than Montana, a testament to the fleeting nature of personally prophesied destinations.

    The album bears similarities to 1984 hardcore classic Zen Arcade by Husker Dü, a concept record about a boy who leaves a troubled home to find a world of nothing but. Ian McCuen never comes close to being as loud as Husker Dü, but the emotional ideas and big picture thinking are all there.

    This is a long record that doesn’t do anything musically shocking, but within the album’s historical approach, it’s all fitting. Continental travel is long, consistent, and miserable, often like life. On Westward to Nowhere though, Ian McCuen conveys this in a way that ends up being pretty enjoyable to listen to.

    Key Tracks: “Independence, MO,” “California Bound,” “American Retreat,” “Deadwood, SD,” “Nowhere”

  • I Prevail “True Power” tour stops at Buffalo Riverworks

    On November 21st, I Prevail brought their True Power tour, named after their latest album, to Buffalo RiverWorks, with Pierce The Veil, and Fit For A King. Stand Atlantic was supposed to be on the bill but due to the lake effect snow that hit Buffalo and other regions, the show was postponed to the 21st from the 20th, and could not make the rescheduled date.

    Fit For A King

    When heading to the venue, you can see why they had to postpone the show, with snow piles all over the city. At first it was a sold out night, but with the reschedule, more tickets opened up but you would not be able to tell as the line to get in was still long. 

    Since Stand Atlantic had to step off this show, Fit For A King opened up the show, though while waiting for things to kick off, suddenly out of nowhere, there were multiple balloons being tossed around in the crowd, after a while, you noticed someone from the upper floor, blowing more to toss down, it was some needed entertainment as the doors opened up at its scheduled time but they didn’t move up the timeline so people had to wait longer for the show to start. 

    Pierce The Veil

    Once things kicked off, it was full blast, with Fit For a King slaying it, everything was going well till suddenly the band stopped playing, it wasn’t clear at first what was happening but EMT’s were needed, come to find out someone had a seizure in the crowd. The EMT’s pulled the person from the crowd and the show continued on. 

    Next to go on stage was Pierce The Veil, who hasn’t had an appearance in the state for a few years now. Again, the show was going great, until people from the crowd were yelling at the band to stop again. This time, it was never clear as to what happened but many people were climbing to get out of the crowd and off to the side, being with a almost sold out show, the floor level was packed, so during the set, it was easier to go to the front. After everyone wanted to get out, the show continued but half a dozen or so people were seen by EMT’s throughout the show. Then on next, last to take the stage, I Prevail. This time, everything seemed to go well with the show not having to stop for medical emergencies.

    Fit For a King

    Pierce the Veil

    I Prevail

  • Marina Laurendi Releases Powerful Music Video for Track “Stay Mine”

    Buffalo-based indie singer-songwriter Marina Laurendi has released a stunning music video for the track “Stay Mine,” off of her EP of the same name that came out in August.

    Marina Laurendi

    Marina Laurendi is a singer/songwriter and musician, originally from the Western New York area. She started performing as an actress, singer, and dancer at a young age. Her career in musical theater led her to NYC, where she performed around the East Coast and Off-Broadway. Her music takes influence from the pulse of the NYC scene and the calmness of her Western NY upbringing.

    Since the release of her EP, she has garnered over 10,000 streams on Spotify, and she was recently a quarter-finalist in this year’s competition to open at the Hollywood Bowl. When talking about the track and accompanying video, Laurendi said it is about the longing to have beautiful shared experiences with someone that matches your personality.

     I had this sense of restlessness when I was writing it like I was just dying to start filling my life with these crazy adventures that make you feel like you can be forever young and I think that translated into the song. When we’re performing it, I always visualize it like a scrapbook of amazing memories so with the video, Luke Haag, our director/videographer, really helped me hone in on the best way to convey that. The whole thing is snapshots of this relationship where we really see the good, bad, and the ugly. It’s a healthy mix of reality and this pipe dream of what could be.

    Marina Laurendi

    The music video shows an intimate portrait of the highs and lows of a relationship. It matches the song’s build-up, as the passion between the couple is met with growing tension and a darker side of the love is revealed. The song focuses on these perfect imperfections as Laurendi sings the opening line, “you’re my favorite headache.” An interesting part of the video is that some of the scenes were shot at multiple locations around Buffalo and the Niagara Falls area. Laurendi also channels old Hollywood and the sounds of Lana Del Rey and Phoebe Bridgers throughout.

    Marina Laurendi showcases that she is here to make a splash in the industry and become the next star. She recently has performed at places like The Bitter End in NYC, Hard Rock Cafe in Niagara Falls, Nietzsche’s and Ironworks Buffalo, just to name a few. To stay up to date on new show announcements, go to her website.

  • Westside Gunn Premieres Music Video for “Peppas”

    Westside Gunn the self-pronounced FlyGod continues to impress with his curation of albums and music videos.

    “Peppas” is the latest video off of Westside Gunn’s new album, 10 and features legendary hip hop duo, Black Star. Getting the seldom featured duo of Yaiin Bey and Talib Kweli on a track is a major coup for Westside. The legendary Brooklyn rhymers have made sure to not oversaturate their sound, going over two decades in-between albums. For the “Peppas” video, Westside bridges the gap between the “hood” and the glamors of the hip hop world. The visual of legendary hip hop figures returning to where it all began, just kicking it on the block adds a down-to-earth feel to the abstract sounding record. A juxtaposition that leans on the fact that most rappers earn their stripes in these communities, thus it’s all one big cycle.

    Visual Breakdown

    The record’s title itself is the name of a popular Jamaican restaurant in Bedford-Stuyvesant, one of Brooklyn’s more renowned neighborhoods. The Conducter Williams produced track features the typical ear catching soul samples that fans have come to expect from a Westside project. Additionally, Kweli, Bey, and their abstract and philosophical rhymes serve as the perfect foil to Westside Gunn’s in your face style.

    Furthermore, each rapper’s verse conveys a similar message in their own way: their view of the world while subsequently letting you know how great they are. Concurrently, they gather with their homies on the block, enjoying the food and mingling with the restaurant staff. The entire record and video plays on the theme of the varying personalities and minds in the hood. Although a group of black males hanging around the block may be stylized as one, there are various personalities, ideologies and general life ethos at play within that group dynamic.

    Best Lyrics

    Matte-black dynamite, blast radials, black radio
    Core capability, flaco facility
    Fly guy, do or die, Bed-Stuy energy

    – Yasiin Bey
    Embed from Getty Images

    Claimin’ La Costra Nostra, we in love with the coca
    They hit niggas with the R.I.C.O., white people put it in cola
    For generational wealth, they standin’ on they ancestor’s shoulders
    After burnin’ down Tulsa, Oklahoma

    – Talib Kweli
    Embed from Getty Images

    My favorite fiend went to rehab
    Two weeks later, he was back a addict again
    He was three dollars short, had to drag him from the Benz wagon again

    – Westside Gunn

    Lastly, FlyGod.

    Embed from Getty Images

  • Parker McCollum To Close Summer 2023 Tour in Buffalo and Syracuse

    On Monday, Nov. 21, country’s beloved Parker McCollum announced the extension of his 2023 tour. Dates revealed for the second leg of his upcoming tour for this summer, which includes a performance at the ArtPark in Buffalo on August 17 and St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheatre at Lakeview in Syracuse on August 19.

    Parker McCollum
    Parker McCollum (Photo Credit: Chris Kleinmeier)

    The second part of the Texas native’s tour is to be co-produced through the collaboration of Live Nation and Emporium Presents and will feature support from rising country artists including Larry Fleet, Jackson Dean and the Randy Rogers Band. McCollum is scheduled to close off his tour in New York on August 19 in Syracuse.

    Parker McCollum 2023 Tour Dates

    May 18 2023 – Toledo, OH -Toledo Zoo Amphitheater *with Larry Fleet

    June 3 2023 – Wilmington, NC – Live Oak Bank Pavilion *with Jackson Dean

    June 9 2023 – Midland, TX – La Hacienda Event Center *with Larry Fleet

    June 10 2023 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion *with Larry Fleet

    June 24 2023 – Indianapolis, IN – TCU Amphitheatre at White River State Park *support TBD

    June 29 2023 – Saint Augustine, FL – The St. Augustine Amphitheatre *with Larry Fleet

    July 14 2023 – Huntsville AL – The Orion Amphitheatre *with Flatland Cavalry

    July 29 2023 – Nampa ID – Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater *with Jackson Dean

    August 10 2023 – Morrison CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre *with Randy Rogers Band

    August 17 2023 – Buffalo NY – ARTPARK *with Larry Fleet

    August 19 2023 – Syracuse NY – St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheatre at Lakeview *with Larry Fleet

    Tickets can be bought here.

  • Duke Ellington Visits Buffalo During Wartime – November 27, 1943

    On Saturday, November 27, 1943, Duke Ellington and his Orchestra performed in Buffalo at the Trico Products Factory, for a performance that was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network. The show was recorded for the Coca-Cola Spotlight Parade of Bands #372, part of the Victory Parade of Spotlight Bands. The recording was preserved through Special Services and the Internet Archive.

    The Trico Factory made windshield wipers and was located at 817 Washington Street, before closing in 2002 after 85 years of operating on the edge of Downtown Buffalo. Where in the building – one that used electroplating, smelting, die-casting, rubber extrusion and metal fabrication – this show took place is as mystery, but all indications point to Trico Products Factory as the venue for this performance.

    Most recently, construction on the Trico Building began in September 2022 to convert the factory into loft apartments, a modern repurposing of a building that had been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2001.

    With the Second World War having been on the front pages of newspapers and forefront of American minds for nearly two years, various military bases and defense plants across the country hosted shows like this one. As a method of paying for the venue space, the promoter and/or artist would simply provide the recordings to Special Services who would repackage them as “Victory Parade” for the Air Force Recruiting Service.

    Musicians including Benny Goodman, Charlie Barnet, Les Brown, Guy Lombardo, Ted Fio Rito, Jack Teagarden, Louis Armstrong, Lawrence Welk, as well as the Duke Ellington performance in Buffalo, and many others, would be featured on the program, with broadcasts beginning with a bugle call. A roll call would then start with the band leader, the band members and then the workers at the facility the show was visiting, all giving a military accent to the performance. Old Time Radio Catalog notes that Victory Parade recordings are some of the best of the Swing Era.

    duke ellington buffalo

    Coca-Cola Spotlight Bands was a notable, if not important and influential music radio series that debuted just days before the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The series initially had various popular bands, instead of just one specific band, and was aired on Mutual Broadcasting System stations six nights a week. From Monday through Friday, a 15-minute program would be broadcast nationally at 10:15-10:30 p.m ET. On Saturday evenings, a 30-minute program would be broadcast at 10:15-10:45 p.m. ET, which would feature the artists with the largest national record sales for the previous week. The identity of the band was kept secret from the national audience until the program went on the air, in order to attract a larger audience.

    In August, 1942, Coca-Cola entered into agreement with the Blue Network (formerly the NBC Blue Network) launching the revised “Spotlight Bands” series. The Blue Network was the former NBC Blue Network. In 1945, Blue would become the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) after being purchased by Edward J. Noble. Music historian Wayne Knight notes “Not only did Coca Cola send the bands to these locations at their expense, but, each time, the bands were booked and paid to play a three hour engagement.”

    NBC Blue Network logo

    With Blue having a wider audience than Mutual Broadcasting System, Coca-Cola and the Blue Network entered into a new 26-week agreement and the name of the program was changed to “The Victory Parade of Spotlight Bands.” The weeknight programs were extended from 15 minutes to 25 minutes, airing at 9:30-9:55 p.m ET, with the last five minutes of the half-hour devoted to news.

    Listeners directly influenced the bands which would appear, with two polls – one by civilians and one by service personnel and workers at defense plants – replacing record sales as the criteria. The second series launched on September 21, 1942, with Harry James performing at the Marine Barracks, Parris Island, South Carolina. Click here to read more about Victory Parade Of Spotlight Bands.

    An advertising segment of this Duke Ellington performance in Buffalo begins halfway through the recording, with the announcer saying, “From an American soldier somewhere a few thousand miles away, comes a letter with these words.” A second voice says “I’ll tell you another thing I would sure go for right now and that’s a Coca-Cola. My mouth is absolutely watering for one.” While it is doubtful a GI would write an ode to Coca-Cola in a letter home, brands of all sizes showed their support for the war effort, building war propaganda into advertising. The announcer ends the ad spot, saying “For many Americans overseas, that Coke is not so far away, because Coca-Cola is bottled in 35 allied and neutral countries ’round the globe, and there, our soldiers, by the thousands, enjoy the goodness of its cheery refreshment, just as you do at home.”

    Giving the listening audience a sense of normalcy among soldiers stationed abroad is punctuated by connecting the listener at home to the soldiers, uniting the war effort to the sugary goodness of this all-American beverage. A commercial from 1944 or 1945 can be seen below, hammering home the Americanness of Coca-Cola, something that German soldier were not unfamiliar with and unable to enjoy. Watch until the end for a surprise bottle opener.

    Meanwhile on that day in World War 2, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister of England, Winston Churchill, and President Chiang Kai-shek of the Republic of China were meeting at the Cairo Conference in agreeing to the Cairo Declaration, which said that “all the territories Japan has stolen from the Chinese, such as Manchuria, Formosa, and The Pescadores, shall be restored to the Republic of China” and that U.S., the U.K. and China “covet no gain for themselves and have no thought of territorial expansion”, setting instead the goal that “Japan will also be expelled from all other territories which she has taken by violence and greed” and “that in due course Korea shall become free and independent.”

    Meanwhile, the Battle of Wareo began between Australian and Japanese troops in New Guinea, and the Army–Navy Game was played at West Point, with No. 6 Navy defeating No. 7 Army by a score of 13–0. Only 15,000 spectators were on hand due to wartime travel restriction that only allowed residents from within 10 miles of the game site to attend. Thus, the surrounding towns near West Point – Fishkill, Cortlandt Manor, Mahopac, Newburgh, Woodbury and Beacon – would make up the entire crowd that afternoon.

    As for the music in Buffalo this evening, Ellington was already well established by this point, having been a staple of the Harlem Renaissance. Ellington had held long engagements at the Hollywood Club (later known as the Kentucky Club) and the Cotton Club, signed with agent/publisher Irving Mills who brought Duke and his recordings to multiple record labels. In 1927, Ellington began a weekly radio broadcast, which increased his name recognition, especially to the white and wealthy clients of the Cotton Club. And Ellington was no stranger to the Queen City, having performed at The Colored Musicians Club in the 1930s.

    The variety of music performed in those broadcast – of which only 22 minutes was aired and preserved for audiences today – gives a taste of Ellington’s broad appeal and range. Shrill horns, dance numbers, both male and female vocalists joining in the fun, plus jitterbugs and light comedy that was appropriate for the times. Great thanks to Jazz LIVES for bringing this performance to light.

    duke ellington buffalo
    photo courtesy of JAZZ Lives

    Joining Ellington this evening were Rex Stewart (cornet), Wallace Jones and Harold “Shorty” Baker (trumpet), Ray Nance (trumpet, violin, vocals), Joe Nanton and Lawrence Brown (trombone), Juan Tizol (valve-trombone), Jimmy Hamilton (clarinet, tenor saxophone), Johnny Hodges (alto saxophone), Otto Hardwick (alto saxophone, clarinet), Skippy Williams (tenor saxophone, clarinet), Harry Carney (baritone saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet), Fred Guy (guitar), Junior Raglin (string bass), Sonny Greer (drums) Betty Roche and Al Hibbler (vocals) and of course, Duke Ellington on piano.

    Listen below to the preserved recording of Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, performed to a wartime audience at an atypical venue for musical performance.

    Duke Ellington – Trico Products Factory, Buffalo – November 27, 1943

    Set: Blue Skies, Do Nothing Till you Hear From Me, A Slip Of The Lip, Sentimental Baby, I Wonder Why, Rockin’ In Rhythm

  • Alan Doyle U.S. Tour to Include Four NY Dates

    Canadian singer/songwriter Alan Doyle is headed to the U.S. for 2023 on a month-long tour which includes four New York concert dates.

    Opening on February 15 Buffalo’s Town Ballroom and closing March 11 in Bonita Springs, FL, Doyle’s U.S. run also features stops at the Clayton Opera House on February 16, Sony Hall in Manhattan on the 24th, and Port Washington’s Landmark on Main Street on the 25th.

    alan doyle tour
    Cover art for ‘Here, Tonight.’ (photo credit: Michelle Spice Photography)

    The tour is in promotion of Doyle’s recent live album, Here Tonight, released in March. It’s his first appearance on the road since the COVID-19 pandemic halted his 2020 Canadian national tour.

    A Newfoundland native, Doyle is a 12-time JUNO Award nominee for his solo material and work with his band, Great Big Sea. Also an author, his 2020 book All Together Now: A Newfoundlander’s Light Tales for Heavy Times was his third national bestseller.

    Tickets for Alan Doyle’s U.S. tour can be found here.

    U.S. TOUR DATES

    FEB 15 / BUFFALO, NY @ Town Ballroom
    FEB 16 / CLAYTON, NY @ Clayton Opera House
    FEB 17 / BARRE, VT @ Barre Opera House
    FEB 18 / BOSTON, MA @ City Winery
    FEB 19 / BOSTON, MA @ City Winery
    FEB 21 / PORTLAND, ME @ Aura
    FEB 22 / AMHERST, MA @ The Drake
    FEB 23 / CONCORD, NH @ Capitol Center for the Arts
    FEB 24 / NEW YORK, NY @ SONY Hall
    FEB 25 / PORT WASHINGTON, NY @ Landmark on Main
    FEB 26 / PHILADELPHIA, PA @ City Winery
    FEB 28 / ANNAPOLIS, MD @ Rams Head On Stage
    MAR 1 / WASHINGTON, DC @ City Winery
    MAR 2 / CHARLOTTE, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre
    MAR 3 / RICHMOND, VA @  Tin Pan
    MAR 4 / RALEIGH, NC @ Lincoln Theatre
    MAR 5 / ASHEVILLE, NC @ Grey Eagle
    MAR 7 / PONTE VEDRA, FL @ Ponte Vedra Music Hall
    MAR 8 / OCALA, FL @ Reilly Arts Center
    MAR 9 / CLEARWATER, FL @ Bilheimer Capitol Theatre at Ruth Eckerd Hall
    MAR 10 / BOCA RATON, FL @ The Funky Biscuit
    MAR 11 / BONITA SPRINGS, FL @ Centers for Arts Bonita Springs

  • Watch moe.queous Animal-Themed Halloween Show

    On October 29, two bands who got their start in Buffalo, moe. and Aqueous combined forces for only the second time. Watch the rare below moe.queous performance below.

    Watch moe.queous
    photo by Matt Shotwell – Strawberry Island Dweller

    The Town Ballroom show found the two bands donning a musical costume with a theme of ‘animals’ leading to covers of Phish, The Beatles and Pink Floyd, as well as songs from the moe. and Aqueous catalogs that centered around various creatures and critters.

    photo by Matt Shotwell – Strawberry Island Dweller

    The lineups for the two band combo included Al Schnier and Vinnie Amico from moe., and Mike Gantzer, Evan McPhaden and Rob Houk from Aqueous. David Loss of Aqueous would also make a surprise appearance on vocals of “I Am The Walrus.”

    Gantzer said of the collaboration, “It’s a cool full circle thing to intertwine the AQ and moe. worlds so directly-Both bands have history at Town Ballroom and share strong roots being from Buffalo, too. There’s something really connective about that, and I’ve always felt a unique kinship and chemistry when making music or even just hanging with those guys. Much of AQ’s early inspiration came from seeing moe. too, so that should tell you just how truly special this will be!”

    Schnier agreed, saying “We love our boys in AQ almost as much as we love Buffalo! Last time we all got together for a moe.queous throw down, it was such an awesome amalgamation of our two bands, and we knew it was something we should definitely do more often.”

    photo by Curtis Kruetter

    Check out the moe.queous setlist and watch videos from across the evening below.

    Set 1: Bearsong > Strange Times > Bearsong, Birds of a Feather > Kitty Chaser > Downward Facing Dog, Marty, I Am The Walrus*

    Set 2: Moth > Pigs > Moth, Warren in the Window, Terrapin Station > Four#, Buster#

    * Dave Loss on vocals
    # Mike on vocals

  • Cobblestone Live Music & Arts Festival Sets 2023 Dates

    Twenty6 Productions, Buffalo Iron Works, and Lockhouse Distillery & Bar have announced dates for the 5th annual Cobblestone Live Music & Arts Festival, taking place Friday, July 14th and Saturday, July 15th in the Historic Cobblestone District of Downtown Buffalo.

    cobblestone live 2023

    The festival will follow in the success of its 2022 dates, featuring two large outdoor stages, two indoor stages, a vendor village, a Kid’s Village, food trucks, and beverage stations throughout the festival grounds featuring craft and domestic beverages.

    cobblestone live 2023

    We are excited to be able to bring our beloved Cobblestone Live Festival to the WNY music and arts community for its fifth year. 2022’s festival was proof that we can unify the community after overcoming Covid setbacks, and 2023 is the year that we will prove that this festival can continue to grow for years to come.

    Festival Founder & Twenty6 Productions CEO Josh Holtzman

    There will be plenty of surprises in store for the fifth year, so be sure to stay tuned to Cobblestone Live social media outlets for the latest news on the 2023 festival.

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