New York City based singer Karine Hannah releases cover of the classic KISS song “I Was Made For Loving You.”
Hannah’s cover of the song turns what was once a rock anthem into a slow, acoustic love ballad. She keeps the same melody throughout but strips the song of its guitar riffs and heavy drums, letting the lyrics do the heavy lifting.
“The sensual nature within the lyrics “I was made for loving you baby, you were made for loving me” steers away from KISS’s theatrical sex energy and instead reveals a more profound passion within these familiar lyrics,” Hannah said. “The gentle instrumentals allow the listener to feel a genuine connection rather than a longing for a one-night stand.”
Even though, Hannah transforms the song its well known melody remains as catchy and memorable as ever. Her crooning voice offers a new interpretation of Paul Stanley’s original performance. Best evidenced, by Hannah’s appealing way of stretching out the vowels in words such as “me” and “you”.
By paring back the song’s rock trappings Hannah aims for sentimentality. It’s a target she nearly hits if it weren’t for the difficulty in separating the song from the transgressive energy so closely associated with KISS’s original version (and their whole careers).
As the Queens community continues its upturn from the effects of the pandemic, various Queens-based arts and culture organizations have gathered to present, Queens Rising. A celebration of arts and culture, the month multi-disciplinary arts celebration was created to highlight the borough’s culture and creative diversity.
As the most diverse place on the planet, Queens is rich with an arts and culture community that reflects that diversity and its unmatched beauty. I’m thrilled Queens Rising will kick-off in the summertime to welcome visitors to the World’s Borough, said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr.
Now more than ever, it’s important to showcase the resilience and creativity of our artists and cultural institutions — because even in the darkest days of the pandemic, culture never closed — as we work to rebuild our economy and come back stronger.
The initiative arose from an Arts Advisory Board meeting of the Kupferberg Center for the Arts, with Northwell Health signing on as a leading sponsor. Comprised of a volunteer Planning Committee representing Queens arts and cultural institutions and several working Groups that includes over seventy-five artists, arts administrators, and other creatives from throughout the borough.
As such, part of the Queens rising mission will be to unify neighborhoods by providing audiences with easy-to-find event and calendar listings featuring artistic and cultural findings. Amplify venues, performance companies, cultural centers, institutions, while connecting artists, venues and businesses to provide as many opportunities as possible.
As a community hospital that not only serves the health care needs of Queens but also draws the majority of our staff from within the diverse neighborhoods that make up our borough, LIJ Forest Hills is Queens, said Lorraine Chambers Lewis, PA, Executive Director of Long Island Jewish Forest Hills, part of Northwell Health.
We were at the epicenter of COVID and came through it with the help of our community more resilient than ever. That’s why we’re so thrilled to be part of Queens Rising NYC to celebrate the rich tapestry of arts, culinary and creative communities that make our borough so unique.
Queens rising will provide its artists with the opportunity to promote themselves through Queens rising socials and other media, connect with performance and showing opportunities, as well as provide information on grants and funding.
Artists can click here to join the Queens Rising artist database. More information on Queens Rising can be found on their official website.
“We hold a crazy standard. If every song doesn’t break a benchmark of something we’ve already done, then it’s not there yet. It’s not right.” This is how Nick Reese, lead singer for Joyous Wolf, describes the work ethic behind the writing and recording of the band’s debut full length album due out this year.
Signed to Roadrunner Records in 2018, the Southern California based band quickly put out an EP “Place in Time,” releasing it in early 2019. From the EP came the single “Mother Rebel.” The song made its way to rock stations across the U.S, including SIRIUSXM’s Octane. “That kind of lifted us to where we could be,” Nick shared. “If that didn’t even happen, I don’t know if we would have had this record the way it is.”
Joyous Wolf
Fueled by the momentum from “Mother Rebel,” Joyous Wolf hit the road performing at festivals and booking multiple dates/tours opening for Slash, Buckcherry, and Deep Purple. Then Covid hit. Like many bands, their progression stopped in its tracks.
“The pandemic happened, and a lot happened during the pandemic. It almost tore us to shreds. As it did to a lot of people.” Reese shares. The band reconvened in July of 2020 to assess the health of the foursome and determine their next steps. “We had a lot of time to think about what kind of band we wanted to be, what we wanted to do, what we wanted to say.”
Looking back at the recording of their EP, Nick identifies it as “primordial” with most of the songs written in two weeks. However, for the new album a different approach was taken. “When it came time to writing and recording it was about taking time. Everything now is about time. “
“I think we got the gears turning again. We started this kind of going through all the things we had been kicking around up until that point. We probably went through a hundred audio files on phones and whatever, checking things out saying ‘Oh that’s cool, that ten seconds of that thirty-minute thing was cool, stuff like that’, We got a couple of things from that.”
Nick Reese, Joyous Wolf
“We went out to Joshua Tree. We wrote out there. A couple of songs were yielded from that. We kept chipping away at things. Some songs we re-wrote the entire song except for this thirty seconds that we liked. Re-writing 5, 6, 10 or more times. We took that whole year for writing. We finished recording in around May (2021). It was pretty much about a year’s worth of work.”
“This is the first time we wrote things and trashed them even when we got to pre-production with them. It was like this is not it, but the rest of this is. Then ‘Fearless’ kind of came in the ninth inning, and the way it worked out, everyone seemed to like it, and they said, ‘That’s the first single.’”
We had a lot of time to think about what kind of band we wanted to be, what we wanted to do, what we wanted to say.
In addition to being lead vocalist, Reese is the primary lyricist for the band. “We all have our purpose. Mine is to write and to sing. That’s where it’s been for me. I just want to write the best stuff. Write honestly. Not try to take advantage of things. It’s me. It’s not me trying to pander or something. The key to myself if its edible then the song is good. I just want to write good music. I want to say what I feel.”
When it comes to the new album, “it’s a really naked record for me. It’s a very personal record to me as far as lyrics. I think you can do whatever the hell you want in music. For me it was what I needed to do. If you asked me, why did you do it, it’s because I had to. I really felt like I had to. I just want to make sure that whatever I’m going to put out there is an honest thing about myself so if you want to get to know me as a person, just listen to every song.”
“‘Fearless’ is about when I was a kid, I was just an idiot. I would be the first person to jump off the waterfall cliffs and if there were waves, giant waves on the beach I would sprint right down and right into them. I liked that. To this day, I am still that same way. I hung by my feet upside down at Las Rageous festival and got banned for life. They did not like that. But I did it. There is this thing in my head, ‘Nah, this is not the time you die yet.’ I’ve always been that kind of a dare devil. “
When Covid put the band on hiatus, Nick took the opportunity for some personal growth. “Over the pandemic I had all this free time and after the three months of depression were over, I was like, ‘You know what, I’m just going to relearn how to sing. Top to bottom.’” To achieve this Reese enlisted vocal coach, Melisa Cross. “She broke it down for me scientifically,” Nick notes. “She went and watched every live video of me singing and said, ‘OK here’s the things you are doing right and here’s what you can improve on,’ never using the word wrong. She (shared) your body is your body, and you know your body. There is a lot of gain to that, and it’s been great.”
Joyous Wolf
Having cut their tour teeth opening for some heavy hitters, what did the band take away from those experiences? “I didn’t really learn anything, but I learned about touring, and I watched performances and I obviously picked up some things. I learned a lot watching Myles Kennedy (lead vocalist in Slash’s backing band Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators) perform. Very inspiring especially in the new format of myself. If anything, my tour manager obviously taught me everything about touring. Like, ‘Don’t talk to this person just go straight to your corner.’ I learned how to live on the road, mainly by doing it. There wasn’t a band that said, ‘Hey we’re going to teach you how this goes.’ It was never like that. Usually, it was staying out of the way of the bands and if they welcome you into their circle (great). But we’re pretty good at staying quiet and out of the way.”
As the final touches are being put on the yet to be named album, Joyous Wolf is heading out on the road for a three-month run across the U.S. The band will be opening for Dorothy on her “Gifts from the Holy Ghost” tour. So, what is it like on the road with these up-and-coming rockers? “We never have any issues. People ask us is there problems or turmoil and there is nothing that would be entertaining. Nothing that would be an actual issue. Nothing that would be exciting like Mötley Crüe bullshit, you know what I mean, nothing like that. We are not that way. I think people see how underwhelming we are when they hang around us.”
“I remember our tour manager (Stripes) when he first signed on to be our tour manager in early 2019. He thought he would be carrying dudes passed out on his shoulder and whatever. Then he realized that after the first show when he was still in the venue after the show was over and he was like where the hell did they go and he walked out to the van and there the four us were playing Mario Kart. I think at that moment he realized this was going to be a boring tour. We are not that type.”
Joyous Wolf
While subdued behind the scenes, the band is anything but when performing live. Electricity flows from the first note. Greg Braccio on base, and Robert Sodaro on drums set a rock-solid foundation for the songs to live on. Blake Allard’s guitar paints the musical canvas with his piercing leads and power chords. And Nick completes the picture, sharing the depth and breath of every song with his vocals.
Just 15 minutes south of Syracuse is the small town of Lafayette, home to the Onondaga Reservation amid rolling hills and valleys. You’ll find a number of apple orchards in this area as well, including Beak and Skiff, whose concert series for Summer 2022 schedule features The Wood Brothers, Death Cab for Cutie, Primus, The War on Drugs and many more.
Beak and Skiff is a family owned orchard for five generations, dating back to 1911 when George Skiff, an onion farmer on the North Side of Syracuse, and Andrew Beak, a dairy farmer, met at the farmers market and decided to join forces and enter the emerging apple business. After finding a hillside area along Route 20 that provided the perfect conditions for growing apples, they started planting that very year.
In the 1920s, Beak and Skiff began selling apples to groceries stores via wholesale, and by the late 1970s, began making apples cider, the same year they opened Apple Hill Country Store. In the last 20 years, they have branched out again by creating the 1911 Established line of Hard Ciders, and created 1911 Spirits, the first Onondaga County brand to hold a distillery license and the first to produce gin.
Bringing a summer concert series to Beak and Skiff is DSP Shows, based in Ithaca, NY and Northampton, MA, is one of the leading independent concert promoters in America. The company was founded as Dan Smalls Presents in 2008 by Dan Smalls and became DSP Shows in 2015 with the addition of partner John Sanders. With shows throughout Upstate New York and New England – including The State Theatre of Ithaca, Brewery Ommegang, Daryl’s House, Asbury Hall at Babeville and many more, DSP shows presents a packed schedule of shows at Beak and Skiff for summer 2022. Compare to their 2021 season at Beak and Skiff.
Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards 2022 Summer Concert Schedule
Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards (LaFayette):
Tue. 5.24.22 | Sylvan Esso w/ Samia
Fri. 5.27.22 | Lake Street Dive w/ special guest Devon Gilfillian
Sat. 5.28.22 | Primus – A Tribute to Kings w/ special guest Battles
Tue. 5.31.22 | The Head And The Heart – Every Shade of Blue Tour 2022 w/ special guest Jade Bird
Sun. 6.5.22 | Bright Eyes w/ special guest Alex G
Tue. 6.7.22 | Modest Mouse w/ special guest The Cribs
Fri. 6.10.22 | The War On Drugs
Sun. 6.12.22 | The Wood Brothers & Guster
Wed. 6.29.22 | Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats w/ Antibalas
Fri. 7.8.22 | Phil Lesh & Friends
Tue. 7.12.22 | Death Cab for Cutie w/ illuminati hotties
Tue. 8.2.22 | Andrew Bird and Iron & Wine – Outside Problems Tour w/ Meshell Ndegeocello
Fri. 8.6.22 | Gov’t Mule
Tue. 8.9.22 | Dashboard Confessional & Andrew McMahon in The Wilderness w/ Armor for Slee[
Sun. 8.14.22 | Hear and There Festival: Courtney Barnett, Snail Mail, Faye Webster, Hana Vu
Tue. 8.16.22 | The Wild Hearts Tour: Sharon Van Etten, Angel Olsen, and Julien Baker w/ special guest Spencer.
Sat. 8.20.22 | The Decemberists – Arise From The Bunkers! 2022 Tour w/ special guest Brigid Mae Power
On February 26th, Cannibal Corpse stopped by to a sold out show at Anthology in Rochester and accompanied with a pretty heavy line up by White Chapel, Revocation, and Shadow Of Intent. Upon entering the venue, you can tell right off the bat it was going to be a packed house with the main floor area already full and lines at the mercy tables. The show started off with Shadow Of Intent who reigned from Connecticut and wasted no time getting the crowd moving and you can feel the energy throughout.
Cannibal Corpse
Next up to kick off the wild night was Revocation, who was formed in Massachusetts. Revocation was a fun band to watch as front man David Davidson, who is the lead vocalist and guitarist.
White Chapel
After them, we had the heavy hitters, White Chapel who are well known for their American deathcore music. When they took the stage, things got a bit foggy and rowdy as some decided it was time to give the security staff a workout.
Looking back into the crowd, all you can see is a sea of metal lovers waiting for the main reason why we all came out tonight. Cannibal Corpse, who is no stranger to the area as they were formed in Buffalo back in 1988. As soon as the band kicked off their set, crowd surfers were in full force, making some of the photographers duck for cover as the security staff was busy catching them. Watching them perform was a delight, as they really showed why they are part of some of the most iconic death metal bands around. With their tour in full swing still, surely it won’t be long before Cannibal Corpse comes back with another killer show that would most definitely sell out again.
Michael Gregory Jackson, the innovative guitarist namechecked as a vital influence by modern masters like Vernon Reid, Brandon Ross, Bill Frisell and Nels Cline, is releasing his first-ever solo electric guitar album, Electric Git Box (Golden Records). Available exclusively at the artist’s Bandcamp site, the digital offering boasts 11 unaccompanied solo guitar pieces showcasing the breathtaking stylistic scope and technique of this critically-acclaimed and influential guitarist’s singular work.
Electric Git Box includes both reinterpretations of Jackson originals dating back to his 1976 solo debut, Clarity, Circle, Triangle, Square, as well as a host of powerful new work. The release also includes extensive liner notes comprised of reflections on Electric Git Box from Oliver Lake, Vernon Reid, Bakida Carroll, Ed Motta, Brian Jackson and Brandon Ross, as well as a poem written for the project by author/playwright/poet Jessica Hagedorn, with additional writings from Jackson.
Jackson says of Electric Git Box, “The nature of beauty is at the core of my being and my music, alongside aggression, passion, fire, and powerful feelings of personal independence and creative freedom. This project was borne of an angst-full period for me, I was feeling inundated with tragedies, the isolation of Covid lockdowns, re-occurring police and vigilante killings of Black people, and living with the omnipresent reality of systemic racism. I was feeling angry, disconnected and erased; thus, I recorded this music with some edges, some distortion, to communicate the multifaceted well of emotions that birthed this performance.”
He goes on to explain, “My guitars, which I’ve called ‘git boxes’ since my teens, have always been my companions and a sanctuary to me, vehicles to help me through the angst of my younger life, and now. Through my guitars, I discovered discipline, self-awareness and inspiration, my git boxes opened a conduit, a dive in deep access and connection to the blues-ness in me.”
Electric Git Box opens with a recent original, “Karen (Sweet Angel)”, an evocative ballad dedicated to his lady love, one which contrasts wide open chording and deep harmony with quicksilver melodies and fills. On “Sweet Rain Blues,” Jackson revs up a gut bucket blues, one that Vernon Reed characterizes as “simultaneously rural, urban, then veers off into considerations of what’s really happening when the sun is shining although it’s raining in your heart”, while on “Wish” Jackson’s blues has a distinct sarod-like tonality. On another recent original, “Hymn for My People,” Jackson recites a funerial slow, ultra-mournful tone poem – largely in single note lines, while “Perseverance” is a driving anthem, as unrelenting as its title. Both, according to the artist “are inspired by the struggle and defiant spirit of my ancestors, and artistic predecessors in all idioms, and all freedom fighters in the fight for the liberation of all oppressed peoples.”
With “Preleuoionti,” Jackson reprises the acoustic guitar showpiece from his 1976 debut disc recorded as a 23-year-old, Clarity, Circle, Triangle, Square. This version has a new depth, one that only time and his mastery of the tonality of the electric SG can add. Another reinvented classic, “Theme X (For Geri Allen),” is a tribute to the late composer and keyboard master, an associate from his early days in New Haven and New York in the 1970s, a composition first heard on Jackson’s 2019 disc, WHENUFINDITUWILLKNOW, with his Clarity Quartet. Ornette Coleman is the dedicatee on “JcakJcak (for Ornette)”, a rapid fire, sometimes dissonant rollercoaster of melody first heard on his “Spirit Single Strata” trio album with drummer Kenward Dennard and bassist Keith Witty, and his Clarity Quartet collection, “After Before.” The same two albums included “Meditation in E (For Karen),” another airy ballad that showcases Jackson’s unique harmonic sense and bluesy sheets of sound soloing.
“Michael’s powerful and melodic & rhythmic sensibilities imbues all these pieces with tactile energy,” says guitar great Vernon Reid. “Michael Gregory Jackson has always cut a singular musical path on his journey through many genres that have been his wheelhouse, through many schools of jazz, alternative rock and even Avant folk. This collection of solo electric guitar may be Michael’s most personal musical exploration yet.”
Pre-order here and visit Michael Gregory Jackson on Bandcamp.
Levon Helm Studios is proud to welcome back the Dirt Farmer Festival at Arrowood Farms in Accord, NY on Saturday, May 21, 2022. Artists will perform on two stages in addition to great local food vendors, craft beer, and other activities.
The initial lineup for The Dirt Farmer Festival includes the Midnight Ramble Band and Friends, Mavis Staples (Duo) and Amy Helm. Newly announced artists include Sam Evian, Oliver Wood, Conner Kennedy & The Onestar Band, Glen David Andrews, Owl & Crow, and Rock Academy with special guests Grahame Lesh, Sister Sparrow (Arleigh and Jackson Kinchloe), and Cindy Cashdollar with more to be announced.
Arrowood Farms is the Hudson Valley’s premier farm brewery located at 236 Lower Whitfield Rd, Accord, NY – 20 minutes west of New Paltz and 30 minutes southwest of Kingston.
There will be limited on-site parking available for $10 per car, with carpooling strongly encouraged. Gates open at noon and the evening of music ends at 9:30pm. Empty reusable water bottles are encouraged to refill water, as are low-backed chairs. The Dirt Farmer Festival will be held rain or shine. VIP Tickets will include access to VIP hangout area with exclusive viewing in front of the Main Stage, access to indoor flushable bathroom, complimentary hors d’oeuvres and VIP-only beer specials.
Watch Amy Helm perform “This Too Shall Light” in 2018.
Oteil Burbridge brought an incredible cast of friends and virtuosos together for an incredible two night run at The Capitol Theatre over March 11-12.
James Casey returned to the stage after recovering from chemotherapy Friday, March 11, and Jennifer Hartswick started off with a charming serenade on “Water in the Desert.” The band played several Grateful Dead tunes that paid homage to The Cap’s Dead roots and of course, Oteil’s Dead & Company affiliation. It’s always an absolute pleasure experiencing a show at this theatre especially with a band as talented and entertaining as this one.
The pair of shows featured Eric Krasno (guitar, Lettuce, Eric Krasno Band), Jason Crosby (keys, Assembly of Dust, Robert Randolph and the Family Band), Jennifer Hartswick (trumpet/vocals, Trey Anastasio Band), Natalie Cressman (trombone/vocals, Trey Anastasio Band), James Casey (saxophone/vocals, Trey Anastasio Band, Lettuce), Tom Guarna (NYC guitarist), and Pete Lavezzoli (drums/percussion, Melvin Seals and JGB).
Oteil and Friends – Capitol Theatre, Port Chester – March 11, 2022
Set 1: Water in the Desert, They Love Each Other, Cats Under the Stars, Gomorrahy, Deal, Too Many Times, In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
Set 2: Magnificent Sanctuary Band, King Solomon’s Marbles, No More Doubt, Can You Get To That, To Lay Me Down, Blue Sky, Eyes of the World, Morning Dew,The Golden Road to Unlimited Devotion, Edward the Mad Shirt Grinder
Oteil and Friends – Capitol Theatre, Port Chester – March 12, 2022
Set 1: Touch of Grey, Scarlet Begonias, Estimated Prophet, Gotta Serve Somebody, Mystery Train, Chasing, Weather Report Suite
Set 2: Hot ‘Lanta, Tough Mama, Believe It or Not, Unconditional Love, Superhighway, New Potato Caboose, Terrapin Station, Shakedown Street
Encore: Attics of My Life, Turn On Your Love Light
Nashville needed Upstate New York for the upcoming film Panama before it could arrive in theaters.
Panama is loosely based on a true story of a special operations guy (Cole Hauser, who plays Rip on Yellowstone) getting mixed up in the US invasion of Panama in 1989. Mel Gibson stars as his point man in the military. The film is directed by Mark Neveldine (Crank) with music composed by Central New York native now in Nashville, Mick Fury.
Neveldine, was born and raised in Watertown, and called upon Fury to compose the score in his studio. Stunt coordinator/actor Frank Blake, also from Watertown, organized his team from his home base in Nashville. Fury shares how we connected together with the film crew:
So initially they liked some of my old Rock band (from Syracuse) Silent Fury’s music and asked to license that. A month later when I got officially hired I first got to sit with the director and hear what emotion he was hoping to present in each particular scene. They call this a “spotting session.” After spent a few hours on that, I hopped into my studio with a rough cut of the film and got to work. Most of the score was scenes you would guess, gun fights, drama, chase scenes, military stuff…but there’s a few scenes with some pretty intense love making happening. Certainly never expected my career to take a turn for softcore porn music! Lol. It wasn’t really that graphic, but it is intense and it’s a unique inspiration to compose for.
In Panama, Fury paints a soundscape of 80’s influences from cumbia (the folk music of Panama) to synthesizers to straight up rock n’ roll.
Photo Credit Brett Berwager
I was working on the film as they were editing the video, which is not typically how its done. Usually they would finish the video and then send it to me, but the music is such an integral part of this film they wanted me in on the ground floor. As such, sometimes I’d score a scene, think it was great and send it…only to get an email back with the scene looking and feeling totally different, and a request of “Do you mind looking at this again?” When we’d finished the film, I felt great…until they asked the video team for a few major changes, including the “tone of the film.” That required me to re-score almost the whole thing a second time. Wild and not highly recommended, however I learned so much the first time through that the second time through my compositions were much much better and really helped to nail the mood.
Looking back, Fury says he has blocked the six months of struggle, sweat, blood and tears and only remembers a really fun experience that was artistically rewarding. And he can’t wait to do another.
I have some connections in the movie world, including to the director of this film. It’s Mark Neveldine who did Crank with Jason Statham. I asked if I could get a song in Panama, and he said send something along and they’d see. I did, he and the production company liked it and asked for more. I sent more, and then more again, and again. I was driving across the Golden Gate bridge a few weeks later with my wife on vacation when I got a call asking, “Well, do you think you could score the whole movie?” I had no idea if I could but of course I said yes and here we are lol.
Panama will release on Friday, March 18th on digital and in theaters.
The Great South Bay Music Festival presented by Blue Point Brewing Co. in Long Island has announced its lineup after a two-year hiatus due to COVID. It is set to return at Shorefront Park in Patchogue Village from Thursday, July 7 through Sunday, July 10. The festival is set to feature a lot of familiar bands and highlighting some local NY bands too.
The festival is celebrating its 14 year anniversary, and because of that there will be 55 performers across three stages all supporting a wide array of genres. To kick off the festival on July 7, indie-rockers Grouplove and Manchester Orchestra will co-headline, and Long Island local’s Bayside will support.
On July 8, reggae band Rebelution will be headlining, with supports Steel Pulse and Sublime tribute band Badfish. Other supports include Bumpin Uglies and Long Island band Oogee Wawa. On July 9, which is typically “Jam Day”, performing is one of the Grateful Dead’s most proud and popular tributes: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead. Returning is also rock band moe., and jazz band Galactic. Also joining the main stage is Long Island guitarist Brandon “Taz” Niederauer, who has shared the stage with Lady Gaga, Gregg Allman, and more. Also joining the stage is Weight Band and rockers Aqueous.
On the final day, July 10, The Tedeschi Trucks Band and the “Wheels of Soul” Tour will be performing, featuring the full 13pc. Tedeschi Trucks Band who are playing a two-hour set in their only metro NY appearance this summer. Also, appearing on the Main Stage will be Los Lobos and Gabe Dixon and his Band.
The Great South Bay Music Festival 2022 in Long Island will be happening July 7-July 10, and will have a mix of familiar bands and a great deal of light shone on local bands. Tickets to the festival can be found here.
