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  • Miles Francis Brings You Back to Your Childhood with new single ‘Let Me Cry’

    NYC singer-songwriter Miles Francis is here to bring back old memories with their new single, ‘Let Me Cry,’ from their upcoming album Good Man, out March 4th. The album covers the topics of masculinity and Francis’s own struggles with identity.

    Produced by Francis over quarantine and recorded in the basement of their Greenwich Village building, the single plays into emotions we’ve all had at one point or another. During the creation of the album, Francis came out as non-binary, which resulted in a deeper dive into the ideas of masculinity and all it entails.

    Along with this self revelation came the desire to help others, with Francis assisting organizers during the height of NYC’s Black Lives Matter protests. They played the drums during marches as a way to help organizers keep beat and also helped to found New York-Based collective Musicians United. They plan on continuing their activism efforts by organizing a benefit concert for Trans housing in April.

    “Everyone starts from the same place, regardless of gender. As children, we let our emotions go, uninhibited and in touch with our vulnerabilities. As we age, we go through a ‘boxing in’ by family or society – unless we can break out.”

    Miles Francis

    The one-shot music video utilizes the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and the method of improvisation to perfectly mirror Francis’s inner feelings. Inspiration for the project was drawn from greats like Prince, David Bowie and the early 2000’s boy bands Francis had listened to in their childhood. Actor Jim Carrey and artist Marcel Duchamp have also impacted Francis’s work.

    Good Man Album Cover

    The single is available on all streaming platforms and the music video is available to watch on the Miles Francis youtube channel. Pre-order for Good Man as well as its’ vinyl and cassette forms are available here. Check out photos from Miles’ show at Baby’s All Right in October 2021.

  • Pigeons Playing Ping Pong Announce New Album ‘Perspective’, Show At Terminal 5 this Spring

    Jam/funk quartet Pigeons Playing Ping Pong announced the release of their new album, Perspective, and winter/spring tour dates, with a stop at Terminal 5 in NYC on April 9.

    Pigeons Playing Ping Pong Tour Dates.

    The group —Greg Ormont [vocals, guitar], Jeremy Schon [guitar, vocals], Ben Carrey [bass, vocals], and Alex “Gator” Petropulos [drums, vocals]- will celebrate their sixth LP with a big tour and a few festival appearances.

    The album is another milestone in the band’s impressive history, having played countless sold-out shows, acquired millions of streams, and developed a loyal fan base known as “The Flock.”

    pigeons playing ping pong tour
    Pigeons Playing Ping Pong at Westville Bowl. Photo by Vic Brazen

    Ormont spoke about the album and spoke of how the pandemic sparked it.

    The album title speaks to the perspective of the pandemic as well as our growth over the years. During this turbulent time, everyone in the world has been forced to look in the mirror and ask what’s truly important. If there’s anything we’ve all gained from this, it’s perspective, and a recurring theme from our band is to not waste time. Now more than ever, we recognize that you only get one life, so you might as well live it to the fullest and lift people up in the process.

    PPPP will be going on tour in the spring, and have a stop at Terminal 5 in NYC. Their new album Perspective will be released on April 8, and tickets for their tour can be found here.

    The group has also debuted a never-before-heard single from their forthcoming studio project, Perspective with “Elephante,” an infectious dance groove ad the first single off of the album. Combining PPPP’s signature catchy songwriting and flair for jocularity, the hard-hitting groove features a jumbo horn line from Nashville funk collective Here Come The Mummies, who previously appeared on PPPP’s 2020 single “King Kong.”

    Accompanying the release is a zany, fairy tale themed video, captured at Clark’s Elioak Farm in Ellicott City, MD, current home of the once revered local attraction, The Enchanted Forest. Directed by Don Cherel, the video is a charming snippet of enchanting lore, featuring the band dressed as kings and swashbuckling heroes on a quest to save a princess.

    “As soon as I heard the first demo of Elephante, I was overwhelmed with excitement and just let it rip vocally,” smiles singer “Scrambled Greg” Ormont. “Musically, it knocks you off your chair. Lyrically, it’s about living life to the fullest. As for the music video, we just let our imaginations run wild on this one.”

  • Katy Perry Shows She’s Never Really Over On SNL

    Katy Perry has returned to Studio 8H. Joined by host Willem Dafoe, this is her fourth time as a musical guest on SNL and her first since 2017. 

    Katy Perry performing “When I’m Gone” on Saturday Night Live.

    A lot has happened since Perry’s last SNL appearance five years ago: motherhood, a new album, a judging spot on American Idol, and most recently, a residency in Las Vegas. Titled Play, the show began at the tail end of 2021 and will run through the end of summer 2022. While Perry hasn’t seen as much chart success lately, she seems more confident and self-assured in a post-Witness world.

    The episode began with a cold open, featuring James Austin Johnson as President Biden dealing with the Russia-Ukraine situation. Pete Davidson appeared as Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who refuses to get vaccinated for COVID. 

    Rodgers wasn’t the only NFL player to appear tonight. Peyton Manning made a surprise appearance during Weekend Update, where he gushed about Emily in Paris whenever Colin Jost asked him about football news.

    Katy Perry’s first song of the night was “When I’m Gone,” her new collaboration with Swedish DJ Alesso. With set pieces ripped straight from Super Mario’s Mushroom Kingdom, it’s clear that she hasn’t lost her signature camp. The song’s lyrics are about a previous romance, but they could easily be about Perry’s relationship with fame and stardom. Around the time of her last SNL appearance, everything from her music to her blonde pixie cut was criticized after a seemingly unstoppable run throughout the 2010s.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCUzL7iHV7E

    Perry closed out the night with an acoustic rendition of “Never Really Over,” her 2019 comeback single. Originally an upbeat dance-pop song, the new version has more in common with her ballads like “Thinking of You.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksMzWT40U24

    SNL takes a break during the Winter Olympics, then returns on February 26 with host John Mulaney and musical guest LCD Soundsystem.

  • Kid Rock Scraps New York Stop on Tour due to COVID-19 Restrictions

    Kid Rock has canceled one of his New York stops on his upcoming tour due to COVID-19 restrictions. Shows in both Buffalo and Toronto, Ontario, have been scrapped from the tour due to COVID-19 restrictions, with Kid Rock threatening to scrap more dates if venues try to place further restrictions that would apply to his shows.

    Kid Rock

    On January 27, 2022 Kid Rock made this announcement on his Facebook page saying he won’t perform anywhere on his 2022 “Bad Reputation Tour” if there are COVID-19 protocols in place. The video was made ahead of tickets going on sale to his tour going at 10AM on January 28, 2022. 

    The tour will stop in 24 cities and will kick off on April 6, 2022 in Evansville, Indiana before wrapping up at Pine Knob, Michigan in September of 2022. The dates may dwindle down though if attendees are asked to wear masks and show proof of vaccinations. 

    “You’re going to be getting your money back because I won’t be showing up, either,” Rock said on his Facebook page. “If you think I’m going to sit out there and say don’t tell me how to live, “We The People,” while people are holding up their f-ing vaccine cards and wearing masks, that s— ain’t happening.”

    “We actually scratched Buffalo, NY off the list because of that and Toronto, Canada and several other cities we were looking at. I don’t want to deal with that s— either and I know you don’t.”

    The tour now has no stops in New York due to mask mandate and vaccination requirements for attending most venues, particularly in NYC. No word if other towns in New York or elsewhere are planning new mask and/or vaccination requirements that prevent Kid Rock from coming to town.

    For more information visit on the “Bad Reputation Tour” visit Kid Rock’s website. 

  • Emo Conquers COVID: Thursday and Cursive At Irving Plaza

    In light of the fact that COVID-19 and its variants are going to be with us for the foreseeable future, bands and concert venues are trying to adapt in order to keep the curtains raised. One particular challenge was on clear display Wednesday night for the Thursday and Cursive show at Irving Plaza, when positive COVID tests amongst three of the four bands on the bill threatened to cancel the show. Instead of making the easier (yet painful) decision to cancel dates on the tour for a second time, the bands came together to put on a truly memorable night at Irving Plaza for the veteran emo bands.

    thursday cursive irving plaza
    Thursday at Irving Plaza, 1/26/22. Photo by Buscar Photo

    The tour was originally announced back in November 2021 and was set to feature Thursday as the headliner with Cursive, Jeremy Enigk and The Appleseed Cast providing the support. Cursive have toured with Thursday on and off since the 00’s; the two bands’ stage presence complement each other quite well and one could find an equal number of Cursive and Thursday T-ees throughout Irving. The first show was scheduled for 1/6 in Virginia but the Omicron surge late in 2021 forced the postponement of the first couple weeks of shows, leading to an opening night on 1/19 in Detroit. As a result, Jeremy Enigk was forced to drop off the bill but was replaced by Nate Bergman (solo) from Lionize.

    thursday cursive irving plaza
    Tim Kasher of Cursive. Irving Plaza, 1/26/22. Photo by Buscar Photo

    Cursive was the only band to be spared from any positive COVID tests and were thus the only band to play a full set with all their members. Bergman performed solo and The Appleseed cast was whittled down to mostly a solo set from frontman Chris Crisci. Chris admitted on one song that he roughly recorded a backing drum track right before the show and was later joined by Bergman on guitar and Cursive frontman Tim Kasher on drums for a noisy jam to end the set. At this point in the show, even though it was clear all aspects were being put together on the fly, the two opening acts had done it so successfully that had you been unfamiliar with the music you would have never known.

    Cursive took the stage to an enormously warm welcome from the Irving Plaza crowd. Not many bands from the emo/hardcore heyday of the 2000s are still touring (let’s call the upcoming When We Were Young festival an outlier for the time being) but Cursive have released two solid LPs in recent years and still garner support from fans all over the world. Their blend of horns and strings with emo and hardcore was unique back in the 2000s and remains to be so today. Featuring an electric cello, brass horns, keys, and Tim Kasher’s eclectic vocal delivery all blend together to create an infectious “baroque-emo-core.” Cursive played a career-spanning set featuring Ugly Organ tracks “Art is Hard” and “Gentleman Caller” as well as personal favorite “The Martyr” from 2003’s Domestica.

    Right before Thursday kicked off their set, frontman Geoff Rickly came out on stage to let the crowd know what was going on. He explained that guitarist Norman Brannon had tested positive and that instead of cancelling the show they decided to “play a basement hardcore show at Irving Plaza.” Several of the touring guitar techs were tasked with learning as many of the guitar tracks as they could and they filled in throughout the show, including on the opener with War All The Time’s “For The Workforce, Drowning.” Thursday made their name in the NJ/NYC DIY hardcore scene so the band was channeling their roots to come through for the fans who came out.

    thursday cursive irving plaza
    Thursday at Irving Plaza, 1/26/22. Photo by Buscar Photo

    Thursday closed the main set at Irving Plaza with their emo anthem “Understanding In A Car Crash” and while a very recognizable guitar track was missing, the void was filled by a guest vocal appearance from Wax Idols singer, Heather Fortune. This show had every reason and excuse to be cancelled, but the will to make it work created one of the more memorable shows NYSM has seen in quite some time. Nate Bergman showed off his vocal prowess, Chris Crisci stripped down The Appleseed cast to its bare songwriting genius and jammed out with Tim Kasher, Cursive held down the fort with a perfect dose of nostalgia, and Thursday sounded as heavy and emotional as ever even if our ears were tingling with missing guitar notes. The crowd provided all the energy needed to overcome COVID in a very typical 2000’s way.

    thursday cursive irving plaza
    Thursday at Irving Plaza, 1/26/22. Photo by Buscar Photo

    The tour is continuing on as planned with a couple shows in New England before the bands return to New York for a show at The Paramount in Huntington. A big hometown show for Thursday is planned at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ for 2/27. Nate Bergman will continue to open the shows until Jeremy Enigk rejoins the bill in February. Find the full itinerary HERE and check out our full photo gallery below.

  • Interpol Announce Tour With Two Dates At Kings Theatre

    Interpol has just finished working on their seventh album, and in addition to teasing new music, has announced a new spring tour, with two dates at Kings Theatre in NYC.

    Interpol

    The band began playing in 1997 in New York, when guitarist Daniel Kessler recruited the bassist Carlos Dengler and the singer Paul Banks. The band signed to Matador Records in 2002 and released Turn On The Bright Lights which made it to the 10th position on NME’s list of 2002’s top releases.

    Over the years, they have acquired multiple high charting records on the Billboard Top 200, earned reviews in Rolling Stone and Time Magazines, performed on many late-night TV specials, and played festivals like Coachella and Glastonbury.

    Interpol will be heading on tour in the spring and will make two tour stops at Kings Theatre in NYC, and tickets for those shows can be found here.

    Interpol Tour Dates

    04-25 Dallas, TX – The Factory in Deep Ellum *!
    04-26 Austin, TX – ACL Live at the Moody Theater *!
    04-28 Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theatre *!
    04-29 San Diego, CA – Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre *!
    04-30 Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre *!
    05-02 Salt Lake City, UT – The Union *!
    05-03 Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom !
    05-05 St. Paul, MN – Palace Theatre *!
    05-06 Chicago, IL – Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom *!
    05-07 Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit *!
    05-08 Cleveland, OH – Agora Theatre *!
    05-10 Washington, D.C. – The Anthem *!
    05-11 Boston, MA – Roadrunner *!
    05-13 Philadelphia, PA – The Met Philadelphia *!
    05-14 Brooklyn, NY – Kings Theatre *!
    05-15 Brooklyn, NY – Kings Theatre *!

    05-21 Los Angeles, CA – Rose Bowl, Pasadena (Just Like Heaven)
    05-28 Mexico City, Mexico – Palacio De Los Deportes &
    06-08 Barcelona, Spain – Sala Apolo
    06-09 Barcelona, Spain – Primavera Sound
    06-11 Porto, Portugal – NOS Primavera Sound
    06-12 Berlin, Germany – Templehof Sounds Festival
    06-14 London, England – The Roundhouse
    06-15 London, England – The Roundhouse
    06-16 Brussels, Belgium – Ancienne Belgique
    06-18 Paris, France – Salle Pleyel
    06-19 Landgraaf, Netherlands – Pinkpop Festival

    * with Tycho
    ! with Matthew Dear
    & with Dry Cleaning

  • This Week’s EQXposure Features Adequate Phil, Joe DeFelice, grape juice! And More

    Each Sunday evening from 7-9pm you’ll find EQXposure on WEQX, featuring two hours of local music from up and coming artists. Tune into EQX this Sunday night to hear new music from Adequate Phil, Joe DeFelice, grape juice! and many more!

    Adequate Phil

    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.

    Adequate Phil

    Psychedelic folk band Adequate Phil has released a double single, “Baby Leeches/Vessel,” featured on EQX this week. Both sides are experimental pieces, especially “Vessel,” which is more of an audio atmosphere than a traditional song. “Baby Leeches” almost follows in its footsteps, until vocals and a recurring melody jump in at the halfway part. With its background whispers about spirit guides and crystal caves, “Vessel” feels like a window to another world. The Troy freak-folk group’s Spotify bio cites Animal Collective, The Beatles, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Radiohead as major influences.

    Joe DeFelice

    Singer-songwriter Joe DeFelice has released his debut EP, Outside Looking In. Originally from New Hampshire, DeFelice has been a live music fixture ever since relocating to the upstate New York area. The penultimate song on Outside Looking In, “We Fell Apart,” is upbeat and anthemic despite its bittersweet lyrics:

    grape juice!

    Albany alt-rock band grape juice! is back with another song, “Goodbyes Suck.” Like their previous single, “Sad Songs,” its title is deceptive: the narrator sounds more than happy to be moving on with his life after a breakup.

  • Isaac Mizrahi Returns to Cafe Carlyle With New Show, ‘In Person’

    Isaac Mizrahi will return to Cafe Carlyle in NYC for his annual residency, running March 1-12. The classic jazz restaurant has previously hosted a number of notable performers including legends like Eartha Kitt, Elaine Stritch and Debbie Harry. 

    Isaac Mizrahi
    Photo Credits – Gregg Richards

    Mizrahi’s new show, In-Person, will run for two weeks and features an array of covers, ranging from Billie Eilish to Stephen Sondheim. There will also be social commentary about everything going on in the modern world, from social media to pandemic headlines. 

    His previous residencies have racked up a myriad of critical acclaim, with the New York Times saying, “He qualifies as a founding father of a genre that fuses performance art, music and stand-up comedy.” 

    Mizrahi has directed theatre productions in St. Louis, as well as directed and narrated his production of Peter and The Wolf at The Guggenheim Museum. The multi talented performer has also been the subject and co-creator of Unzipped, which focuses on the making of his award winning Fall ‘94 collection. 

    Isaac Mizrahi
    Photo Credit – David Andrako

    Adding to his long list of accomplished work, Mizrahi has created his own production company, Isaac Mizrahi Entertainment, which he uses to produce several projects.

    Tickets are available for purchase here and additional information can be found here.

  • Brooklyn’s Evolfo Rocks the World with the Announcement of “Site Out Of Mind” Tour w/shows in Troy, Canton, Rochester

    Evolfo, Brooklyn’s very own psych rockers, have released the tour dates for their most recent album, Site Out Of Mind. The tour is set to take place between this upcoming March and April for a total of 12 days, across the Midwest and Northeast.

    Evolfo

    In 2021, Evolfo’s Site Out Of Mind, showed their fans a different side of what they’re capable of, expressing their uniqueness. In regards to their sophomore album, the group’s vocalist and guitarist Matt Gibbs shared, there is a mixture of “tripped out, weirdo, psych improv with our more arranged and melodic tunes.”

    Along with Gibbs is Rafferty Swink on keys and vocals, Ben Adams on guitar, Kai Sorensen singing harmonies and playing trumpet, Jared Yee on saxophones, Ronnie Lanzilotta on bass, and Dave Palazola on drums. In Gibbs’ at home recording studio, all seven members shared their ideas and aided in the writing process.

    Concepts derived from sci-fiction and one group psychedelic trip, led to the creation of something visionary and beyond the ordinary perspective of a psych rock album. Site Out Of Mind, takes their listeners on a journey into the depths of the spiritual mind and the afterlife.

    In 2017, the rockers released their revolutionary debut album, Last of the Acid Cowboys, which totaled to over 6 million streams. However, through the use of thoughtful planning, improvisation and an extensive variety within their fresh new sounds, there’s no doubt that Site Out of Mind will be a success; some may even call it a rocker’s dream.

    If the protagonist of that album died at the end of Last of the Acid Cowboys, then this was the protagonist’s internal journey, flipping the landscape, and going through the mountain of their mind in that moment of mortality; perhaps a blurring of brain activity between dying and death, between life and the afterlife.

    Matt Gibbs

    Tickets are currently available for sale on Evolfo. Additionally, Site Out Of Mind is available on these streaming platforms Listen / Share.

    Tickets on sale Friday January 28!
  • North Side Sound set to release Debut EP “Take My Time”

    Are you a fan of rock, indie, reggae, or even funk? North Side Sound, a band out of Albany who formed a year and a half ago, does it all. The tandem create genre bending music and are set to release them on their EP Take My Time, on January 28th on all streaming platforms.

    North Side Sound EP

    The four songs represent the concept of relationships in their own unique way, and how they can be inconsistent . They also represent all the good memories that are shared within relationships. Pauly Graves (lead vox, guitar) Kasey Hogan (guitar), AJ Farina (bass) and Todd “Toddy” Friedman (drums) recorded all four songs during the pandemic.

    Tracks “Take My Time” and “Five” really put the project together well. “Take My Time” is up tempo and has a mix of reggae and rock melodies. The bridge and the hook are catchy with a guitar riff bringing energy to the track to where you’ll find yourself bobbing your head. “Five” has a more reggae feel from the drum patterns to the guitar melodies. The bridge in “I Let It Roll, Roll, Roll” is very catchy as well.

    North Side Sound’s Take My Time EP is a debut project with great artistry, melodies and overall song composition. Go listen to “Take My Time” on all streaming services on Friday, January 28th.

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