Amayo, former frontman of Antibalas for 23 years, will embark on a spring tour and perform seven shows across the country in April, with two shows in New York, at City Winery on May 8 and Colony Woodstock on May 13. Amayo is credited with bringing Afrobeat to a global audience, leading it to become a genre of itself.
The Grammy-Nominated Antibalas album, Fu Chronicles, in the category of Best Global Music Albany, was his vision, from concept to compositions and illustrations. The album became the launchpad for Amayo’s solo career, where Kung Fu meets Afrobeat.
A unique blend of styles creates a magical landscape for Chinese & African rhythms, where Amayo sings traditional Yoruba & Edo lyrics and plays piano, electric keyboard, organ, and the Gbedu Spirit Drum. Joining Amayo is his band, featuring chekere, guitar, bass, flute, violin, drums, percussion and horns.
The band carries the spirit of Kung Fu masters and philosophers of Asia, freedom fighters, the royal warriors of Edo & Ife Kingdoms, and Fela Kuti.
Amayo’s songs guide people through Kung Fu movements and stories of the Nigerian Edo & Ife Kingdoms. As an anointed Orisha “Awo” Amayo sings traditional Nigerian spirituals and stories that have been passed down in a sacred lineage.
Additionally, Amayo has been a senior master (Sifu) of the Jow Ga Kung Fu School of martial arts since 1982 and performs traditional Chinese Lion Dance as a salutation ritual to begin his stage performances to bring good fortune to the audience.
Fresh off live scoring The Fifth Element at The Caverns in Tennessee, The Disco Biscuits marched north to Port Chester for three nights at The Capitol Theatre over March 23-25, quite possibly their strongest run at the ‘Original Rock Palace,’ dating back to 2016.
Few bands display the consistency the Disco Biscuits have displayed as of late, going back nearly a year to their last Capitol Theatre run, which has been followed by more than a dozen original song debuts that have quickly become part of the rotation.
From the crowd, the band looks like they’re having a blast on stage, rocking out to the music they’re creating, feeding off their own creation just as the fans are, creating a live camaraderie that is rarely seen. From the stage, one can see the band is getting down while watching the fans do the same, all while creating live electronic music to an unmatched degree of quality, making it look like just another day at the office.
Typically, Thursday of a three-night Cap run has been more of a ‘‘warm up night,’ as the band gets comfortable in the room. The shows have been great, but have been overshadowed by stellar Friday and Saturday shows. This was not the case this weekend, given the way the band has been playing, as there was no warm up needed and Thursday was on par if not stronger than the next two nights.
Starting the run with a jam that evolved into an almost 20-minute “Gangster,” a “Spacebirdmatingcall” sandwiched “Cyclone” that found Jon “Barber” Gutwillig hitting next level peaks as the industrial techno beat took over. As the set reached the second half, two rarely played songs, “Trooper McCue” and “Floes” appeared, a double dose of early Biscuits, with the more recent “Lake Shore Drive” fitting in nicely in between.
A rarely played “Park Ave” made its third appearance since 2011, and second this year, opening up the second set, then dipping into an inverted “Shelby Rose” which was last performed inverted style at the Capitol Theatre in 2019. The flowing set continued with an inverted “Reactor” which found Barber taking a section for “a couple of laps” as bassist Marc Brownstein put it. The set would close with ”Evolve,” a 2021 composition that gives off a late 90s Eurodance vibe, segueing into a 20-minute set closing “Caterpillar.” With a short encore slot leftover, “Portal To An Empty Head” put a exclamation point on a night that to some was the highlight of the run, but if anything, simply foreshadowed the greatness of the next two nights that followed.
The Disco Biscuits – Thursday, March 23 – The Capitol Theatre – Port Chester
Set 1: Jam > Gangster > Spacebirdmatingcall > Cyclone > Spacebirdmatingcall, Trooper McCue, Lake Shore Drive > Floes Set 2: Park Ave > Shelby Rose 1 > Reactor 1 > Evolve > Caterpillar Encore: Portal To An Empty Head 1 inverted
Friday night featured opener Dogs in a Pile, a New Jersey band that was making waves prior to the pandemic and who have not looked back in that time, touring across the country and building a ‘Dog Pound’ fanbase in the meantime. The full set is worth a listen, especially the final tune, “Time Stands Still,” with Ben Pinnola on saxophone.
When it comes to the Disco Biscuits, anything can be a jam vehicle, nearly everything is in play – new songs, old songs, fan favorites, rare covers – and that is what makes the band so enjoyable to see show after show, no matter if you last saw them a week ago or five years ago.
Cracking open the first set was “Shocked,” which stands to be the first song from the band’s forthcoming “Space Rock Opera,” and had fans shouting “Shocked” as if the tune was a longtime part of the repertoire. A stand alone “Digital Buddha” followed, with the pace accelerated by Barber and drummer Allen Aucoin to a furious froth, giving unparalleled energy as the song reached its peak.
Among all new debuted songs, a clear fan favorite is “Twisted in the Road,” which would proceed to sandwich three songs in between a “Twisted” 22 minute jawn, with lyrics “Let it run and let it roll” becoming a mantra for Biscuits fans in the process. “Bombs” made a return appearance at The Capitol Theatre (played in 2017 and 2019) after being brought off the shelf by fan request at a Drive-In show in May 2021. “Orch Theme,” the ever-welcome dark electronic Conspirator song arrived out of “Bombs,” bringing the rare “Rainbow Song” from the ashes of “Orch Theme,” before winding back into “Twisted in the Road” to close the set and reach the halfway point of the run.
Set 2 began with the fresh “Freeze” that ran for nearly 25 minutes and exemplified one of the best elements of the Disco Biscuits – you can easily forget what song you’re dancing to, and happily so. In the moment, it doesn’t matter what song it is when they’re jamming at this level of consistency, making song chasing secondary to enjoying these jams more than ever before. Anything is in play with improvisation opportunities found at all turns.
The middle section of “Crickets” gave way to “Another Plan of Attack” and “Space Train,” and then an inverted “Above The Waves” that clocked in at a raging 20 minutes. “One Chance To Save The World” closed the set with “King of the World” celebrating this powerful set in the encore slot.
The Disco Biscuits – Friday, March 24 – The Capitol Theatre – Port Chester
Set 1: Shocked, Digital Buddha, Twisted in the Road > Bombs > Orch Theme > Rainbow Song > Twisted in the Road Set 2: Freeze > Crickets 1 > Another Plan of Attack > Space Train > Above The Waves 2 > One Chance To Save The World Encore: King of the World 1 middle only 2 Inverted
Opening Saturday night was Eggy, who has been on the rise as of late and had recently opened for Twiddle at The Capitol Theatre in November 2022. This remarkable Connecticut band has excellent stage presence and precision jamming, with Jerry Garcia Band’s “Gomorrah” a fitting cover for the room.
The Biscuits’ first set opened up with stand alone versions of “Story of the World” and “Astronaut,” a departure from the sandwiching of other tunes inside segments of these compositions. A classic “Little Shimmy In A Conga Line” had a percussion segment that was unique and fit the jam well, and may have been exploring a shift into “O Fortuna” (a cantata by Carl Orff), from the Biscuits’ catalog of classical covers. Shortly after, “Shimmy” started to give off “Digital Buddha,” but having already played “Buddha” the night before, this meant the audio doppleganger for “Buddha” – “Tricycle” – was on the horizon.
The last two minutes of “Shimmy” made it seem as though the band would be dipping into one of their most high energy songs for a segue. Then out of left field came a short, sweet and nasty “Tempest” that provided a bridge to the full on “Tricycle,” which had the crowd singing along in unison like no other in recent memory, the four fully dialed in for this fusion of sound and bringing the audience along with them for the ride. The newer “Vibes” hit the spot out of “Tricycle” and found its way into the ending of “Svenghali” to close the set on a high mark.
The first set had so much energy and hit all the right spots, contending quickly for ‘Set of the Weekend.’ The general consensus at setbreak gave no notes, no criticisms and no hot takes other than ‘these guys are on fire.”
Sorry if that sounds like hyperbole, but the dedicated fan base is in agreement that the band is as dialed in and consistent as they’ve ever been. So when it came time for Set 2, the crowd was abuzz as the setlist was confirmed to be written by longtime Biscuits audio engineer Rich Steele, celebrating his 300th show this evening. The set unfolded as a dissection of one of the Biscuits’ earliest songs, “Basis For a Day” spread out over the 90 minute set with four of the newer ‘Space Opera’ songs woven in between, leading fans to coin the fluid set “Spaces for a Day.“
If you hadn’t heard “Basis For a Day” in a minute, you were in for a treat. The band opened up with “Basis,” segueing into “The Wormhole” before finding their way back to “Basis.” Despite only debuting nine months ago, “Who’s In Charge” has found its home in regular rotation and followed the second “Basis,” with a driving beat behind Barber’s repeated query “Who’s in charge….. of this place right here?” From there, it was back into “Basis” for round 3, followed by “The Deal,” a song so new it had only been played three times prior to this evening. Back into “Basis” and then “To Be Continued,” with a new wave/techno riff from Aron Magner, seeming to be a song towards the end of the Space Opera. By the time they went back into “Basis” for a final time, nearly 90 minutes had passed but fans didn’t notice as they were far too busy getting down.
You couldn’t find a stronger way to cap the run with a set of this nature, where knowledge of the band’s collective level of consistency in performance and songwriting was put high on a pedestal for all to see. Weaving the band’s unnamed/unreleased “Space Opera” in and out of one of their most performed songs was a master stroke and paid dividends for everyone in attendance. A fitting encore of “We Like To Party” framed the three night run, with the band and fans in unison proclaiming enthusiastically, loudly and proudly, “We like to dance, sorry if you don’t.”
Don’t sleep on the Disco Biscuits – they’re in Colorado this coming weekend for four shows, head down south for four more in May before heading to Iceland for their first international jaunt in well over a decade. Tour dates for the summer have just been announced, which find the band touring up the east coast in June for eight shows, starting in South Carolina on June 7 and closing out with two nights at Mulcahey’s in Wantagh. Here’s hoping for more details on the upcoming “Space Opera” as the year progresses.
The Disco Biscuits – Saturday, March 25 – The Capitol Theatre – Port Chester
Set 1: Story of the World, Astronaut, Little Shimmy In A Conga Line > Tempest > Tricycle > Vibes > Svenghali 1 Set 2: Basis For A Day > The Wormhole > Basis For A Day > Who’s in Charge > Basis For A Day > The Deal > Basis For A Day > To Be Continued > Basis For A Day Encore: We Like To Party 1 end only
The Little Theatre, Rochester’s premier cultural center for the presentation of American independent and foreign films, visual arts and music, has a packed calendar through April and May, highlighted by the Rochester Guitar Festival, held April 1-3.
Educational events allow The Little Theatre to provide local artists a place to share and discuss their visions with a diverse audience. The warm and inviting atmosphere at “The Little” includes programming that stimulates and expands thought, inspires the spirit, promotes friendly discussion and opens cultural horizons.
Organizers of Rochester Guitar Festival, Rochester Classical Guitar, are dedicated to enriching the arts and connecting communities in the Greater Rochester Area through the medium of classical guitar. Since 2016, RCG has been presenting performances and masterclasses with internationally-acclaimed artists, and providing opportunities for local musicians, students, and hobbyists alike to perform and learn.
Rocheter Guitar Festival will feature two shows in the theater on Saturday and Monday evening, with classical guitar night in the cafe in between on Sunday.
Saturday’s show features two amazing Eastman faculty, both with international careers, Nicholas Goluses and Bonita Boyd. The pair of professors will present a variety of works composed for flute and guitar, including two works by Samuel Adler and Cynthoa Folio that are commissioned for the Eastman’s Centennial celebration and dedicated to the Boyd/Goluses duo. Details | Get Tickets
Ken Luk, Tom Torrisi, and Michael Jones are the main organizers of Rochester Guitar Festival, through Rochester Classical Guitar. Together they have been holding classical guitar night every Sunday at the cafe for many years, including April 2nd. These musicians offer a great deal for those who play classical guitar at all levels, as well as fans of the music. Details
Monday’s concert is by internationally touring guitarist Raphaël Feuillâtre, performing music from the distant past. The 26-year-old French classical guitarist, whose repertoire embraces everything from Johann Sebastian Bach and Rameau to contemporary compositions by Roland Dyens and Sérgio Assad, possesses the technical mastery and creative vision required to make works from all periods sound as if they were written yesterday – alive, heartfelt, filled with colour. Featuring local young musicians with a short opening number, the guitar class from ROCmusic, directed by Michael Jones, will kick off Raphaël‘s concert at 7pm. Details | Get Tickets
The Little Cinema Movement evolved in the 1920s as a response to the trend of mass marketing in the entertainment industry. With movie companies and film producers devoting increasing attention to the new “talking” motion pictures, the Movement attempted to reach an audience open to the experimental, the eclectic, and the unusual. The Little Theatre was proposed as one of a chain of small theaters designed to provide an alternative to the large commercial movie houses of the day.
As of late, The Little has begun an ambitious undertaking of renovating the original theatre, taking care to preserve the historic design while expanding its versitility and accesibility. Theatre 1 now has a fully rennovated marquee, new auditorium seats, a fully updated stage and sound system, and a rejuvenated lobby with an elevator.
April at The Little Theatre
Apr 1, Sat, 7-9pm: Laura Dubin Trio
Apr 2, Sun, 7-9pm: Classical Guitar Night
Apr 3, Mon, 7-9pm: PV Nunes Band
Apr 5, Weds, 7-9pm: Levi Gangi (residency)
Apr 6, Thurs, 7-9pm: Trialogue
Apr 7, Fri, 7-9pm: Sons of Monk
Apr 8, Sat, 7-9pm: Tug Hill Band
Apr 9, Sun: Easter holiday, no music
Apr 10, Mon, 7-9pm: Bossa Nova Bradley Brothers
Apr 12, Weds, 7-9pm: Levi Gangi (residency)
Apr 13, Thurs, 7-9pm: Big Blue House
Apr 14, Fri, 7-9pm: Rochester Ukulele Orchestra
Apr 15, Sat, 7-9pm: Kubick’s Rubes
Apr 16, Sun, 7-pm: Margaret Explosion
Apr 17, Mon, 7-9pm: Mel Henderson and Greg Wachala
Apr 19, Weds, 7-9pm: Levi Gangi (residency)
Apr 20, Thurs, 7-9pm: The Spring Chickens
Apr 21, Fri, 7-9pm: Uptown Tango
Apr 22, Sat, 7-9pm: Stella Hill (Originals plus tribute to Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt)
Apr 23, Sun, starting at 5:30pm: Poetry and Jazz
Apr 24, Mon, 7-9pm: Bravo Nights (w/ Opera Guild of Rochester)
Apr 26, Weds, 7-9pm: Levi Gangi (residency)
Apr 27,Thurs, 7-9pm: Jackson Cavalier
Apr 28, Fri, 7-9pm: Alyssa Rodriguez
Apr 29, Sat, 7-9pm: Meghan Kehrer Quartet
Apr 30, Sun, 7-9pm: Annie Wells Band
May at The Little Theatre
May 1, Mon, 7-9pm: Watkins & the Rapiers (residency)
May 3, Weds, 7-9pm: Sons of Monk
May 4, Thurs, 7-9pm: Trialogue
May 5, Fri, 7-9pm: Trio East
May 6, Sat, 7-9pm: Laura Dubin Trio
May 7, Sun: Classical Guitar Night
May 8, Mon, 7-9pm: Watkins & the Rapiers (residency)
May 10, Weds, 7-9pm: The Djangoners
May 11, Thurs, 7-9pm: Gregory Street Vagabonds
May 12, Fri, 7-9pm: Archive Ravens
May 13, Sat, 7-9pm: Bangers and Mash
May 14, Sun, 7-pm: Rich Thompson Trio – Generations
May 15, Mon, 7-9pm: Watkins & the Rapiers (residency)
May 17, Weds, 7-9pm: Spring Chickens
May 18, Thurs, 7-9pm: Susanna Rose
May 19, Fri, 7-9pm: Tug Hill Band
May 20, Sat, 7-9pm: Taurus Savant
May 21, Sun,7-9pm: Bob Sneider Trio
May 22, Mon, 7-9pm: Watkins & the Rapiers (residency)
May 24, Weds, 7-9pm: Margaret Explosion
May 25,Thurs, 7-9pm: Sunshine Quan
May 26, Fri, 7-9pm: Debbie Kendrick Band
May 27, Sat, 7-9pm: Mel Henderson and Greg Wachala
Blanket Approval will throw a bit of a shebang this weekend at Berlin (Under A) in the heart of the East Village. They’ll be joined by Strange Neighbors and Golden Alphabet, and will have a one-of-a-kind show poster and t-shirt auction benefiting the Achilles International Queens Chapter.
Blanket Approval is a groovy indie pop rock band from New York City. Born out of the ashes of the pandemic, singer/guitarist Jack Matteucci moved to Brooklyn in August of 2021 after hopping around the country for 8 months, searching for a music scene he wanted to grow with. He soon met drummer Joey Hadden through mutual friends and they founded the band. While the two were gigging together, Jack met bassist Max Mena at a DIY punk show in Queens and thankfully found guitarist/keyboardist Rahul Chakraborty online.
With the new recruits, Blanket Approval began rehearsing and recording in January 2022, before making their live debut at Union Pool in Brooklyn that spring. Since then, the band has played throughout NYC, most recently at the acclaimed Mercury Lounge in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The band has built an impressive following thanks to strong social media promo, has garnered nearly 200,000 streams on Spotify in less than 8 months, and a feature in Spotify’s Fresh Finds Indie. 2023 will see a string of new releases, including a summer EP, as well as tour dates throughout the East Coast.
Strange Neighbors first unleashed their jangly power pop onto the New York scene in 2018. Founded by vocalist Aidan and drummer Tracey, they soon brought guitarist Zach into the mix through a Facebook ad. It remains one of the three all-time positive outcomes of social media.
After a few early singles and some lineup changes, the band brought along bassist Dana to record their debut album How to Human in early 2019. Taking influence from the power pop and pop punk of the band’s youth, the album’s eight songs are characterized by sparkling guitars, intricate bass lines, rock solid beats and impassioned vocals, a mix of the old and new.
The band followed up with the Illuminasti EP in 2020 and marked their live comeback as a live act with the single “Mystic Piers” in July of 2021. They have continued recording, writing and performing into 2023 with the release of the “Party of None” EP.
Since their formation, Strange Neighbors have played at popular New York City haunts like Piano’s, The Bitter End, Bowery Electric, Cobra Club, Arlene’s Grocery, Mercury Lounge, Knitting Factory, Sultan Room, Rubulad, and more.
Originally formed in the cactus country of Tucson, Arizona, in 2003, Golden Alphabet found their final form in a place that couldn’t be more different than Southern Arizona: Brooklyn. Along the road there have been many members and iterations from solo project, to large form collective, to the current 5-piece (since 2014). All the shapes Golden Alphabet have taken have left their mark and played their part in what the group is in this moment.
Their desert roots are not hard to pinpoint. With the country western radio station blasting from his father’s workshop, primary writer and singer Tommy Cormier couldn’t escape the simple structures and emotive delivery of the music he grew up with. Though their music might not be technically categorized as country or folk, Golden Alphabet delivers an aesthetic of contemporary indie-psych, sometimes baroque pop, with a varnish of desert dust; from melodic whispers to heavy riffs and soaring choruses, inspiration takes many forms in their music.
Golden Alphabet is Tommy Cormier, Kendra Kovarik, Nate Jasensky, Derek Smith, and Timmy Minker. Removable Baby Jesus was recorded, produced, and mixed entirely by the band at Greenpoint Recording Collective, where Cormier and Jasensky are producers for local musicians and bands.
Berlin (Under A) is located at Avenue A & 2nd Street in Alphabet City. Tickets are $10 advance, $15 Day of Show.
At the Schenectady Armory, the Van Gogh Experience has been open for nearly a year, welcoming thousands to explore the art and life of Vincent Van Gogh in an immersive experience. A variety of new events that incorporate music into the art space have added a new twist on Van Gogh, combining art and music in unique ways.
Following a successful performance by Gratefully Yours in February, a Silent Disco event – Silent Night Starry Night – will be held on Friday, March 24, combining Van Gogh and music in a truly unique way.
Doors open at 8pm, with patrons receiving headsets upon arrival. The music starts at 8:45pm, featuring two DJ’s battling back and forth on the two channels, allowing attendees to listen to either channel as they explore the entire exhibit, including the immersive room. The channels will allow you to flip back and forth between top 40, R&B, house and reggae music, with the channels tracking listeners, leading to a winning DJ and genre being declared.
The first 100 tickets are $40 and presale tickets $50, plus a $5 ticketing fee. VIP packages are available and include a private table, coat check and a Van Gogh poster from the retail shop. Vendors are welcome but need to purchase a four pack of VIP tickets in order to vend.
Additional events at the Schenectady Armory and Van Gogh Experience include yoga classes and Sensory Friendly nights for children and adults.
Yoga is held one Saturday morning each month at 7:30 a.m. and the last Sunday of every month, a yoga wine down starting at 7pm, both in the immersive room. The Sunday March class will be held March 26th and again on April 30, both followed by a happy hour in our Armory lounge. Yogis are welcome to get a non-alcoholic beverage or cocktail and either hang in the Armory lounge or cruise through the exhibit with their cocktails. The next Saturday session will be April 8.
The cost for regular admission to the yoga class is $50 which includes the class, admission to the exhibit and your first cocktail or beverage is complimentary. VIP packages are also available, which include the yoga class, admission to the exhibit with the virtual reality experience also included, your first beverage during happy hour, a Van Gogh yoga mat, thermos and yoga hand towel. The cost for this package is $90.
On the first Tuesday of each month, discover the exhibit during a sensory sensitivities and disabilities Awareness Day. Schools are welcome as well as families with autistic children and students with other disabilities for an inclusive sensory conscientious showing of the exhibit. Special accommodations will be made to create a more sensory-friendly environment for guests with sensory sensitivities and other special needs.
National Autism Awareness Day is Sunday April 2nd with an event held that day, followed by the first Tuesday autism and disabilities awareness day on April 4th.
Sensory Friendly and Autism Awareness Days feature artificial noise reduction, the elimination of flashing lights and the dimming of armory lighting as well as sensory safe spaces throughout the exhibit all in an effort to create a more sensory-friendly atmosphere.
The cost for all students and their siblings is $15. One caretaker or teacher is admitted complimentary and the cost for additional adults is $30. For information on groups and field trips please email Tiffany at gmschenectady@exhibitionhub.com. Tickets may be purchased at the box office at 125 Washington Ave Schenectady NY 12305 or at feverup.com
The 40th anniversary of the Talking Heads 1984 concert film and album, Stop Making Sense, will be celebrated in theaters later this year, with the full show being issued on vinyl for the first time on August 18. The collection of beloved songs will be shared as a limited edition two-album set, paired alongside a 28-page booklet with unpublished photos and new liner notes.
Earlier this week, the band shared a post on the band’s social media featuring Talking Heads frontman David Byrne retrieving his famous oversized grey suit from the dry cleaner, after decades of storage. Byrne then rides home on his bike, dons the suit and warms up a little as “Naive Melody” plays over the video, segueing back to his 1984 self from the movie.
The Jonathon Demme-directed Stop Making Sense 2023 arrives via A24, which acquired the film’s worldwide rights. Stop Making Sense captured the Talking Heads as they performed at Hollywood’s Pantages Theater in December 1983 in support of their fifth album, Speaking in Tongues.
Accompanying the film will be a new deluxe edition of its soundtrack, due out on August 18th via Rhino Records. Available digitally with a Dolby Atmos mix of the complete concert and as a 2xLP set, the reissue is mixed by Jerry Harrison and E.T. Thorngren. Notably, the reissue adds on two previously unreleased performances of “Cities” and “Big Business / I Zimbra,” as well as unseen photos.
Byrne performed his Oscar-nominated “This Is a Life” at the Academy Awards earlier this week, which saw “Everything Everywhere All At Once” win 7 Oscars, including Best Picture. Next, Byrne will provide music for the upcoming John Mulaney Netflix special, Baby J, and his disco pop musical Here Lies Love, about the life of former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos, which is set to open on Broadway this summer.
As part of Vevo’s footnotes series, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop, Queens group Salt-N-Pepa have revisited their iconic “Shoop” video, The rap icons shared insights into their creative process, the inspiration behind the song and their fight to make “Shoop” the lead single on the group’s fourth album, 1993’s Very Necessary.
During the episode, Pepa delves into the story behind the song and her verse, as well as the challenges the group faced in convincing their label to release “Shoop” as the lead single from their album ‘Very Necessary.’ She also recounts the excitement they felt when the song became a massive hit and solidified the group’s position in hip-hop.
Meanwhile, Salt discusses how the song helped her to step away from her boyfriend and manager, Hurby [Luv Bug] and how “Shoop” empowered not only her but other women. She also shares her favorite moment from the music video shoot and reveals that she recorded her verse while holding her daughter Corin.
Below is a complete outline of “Shoop”” I Vevo Footnotes:
00:15 – The concept for “Shoop” started with me chillin’ in Queens, riding around in the car and I’m telling the story of how “I saw a brother, I had to kick it to, I’m not shy so I asked for the digits and that does not make me a hoe.” This story became the song and the inspiration for the first verse. – Pepa
00:35 – My favorite moment in the video is when Salt, Spin and I step out of the car and my niece is with me. Also, the guys on the corner shooting dice are playing Silo 456…it’s a New York thing. – Pepa
01:02 – When shooting “Shoop” I was a bit self conscious. It was hard being in a bathing suit and my booty kept falling out of my shorts when we were dancing on stage. – Salt
01:28 – The objective was to turn the tables on men – make them the objects. When writing my verses, I was thinking of tongue in cheek ways to objectify men. When you really like a song, it’s easy to record. Fun fact: I had my daughter Corin in my arms while recording “Shoop.” – Salt
02:04 – I was going through producer Mark Spark’s crates of records and there was the sound I was looking for “I’m Blue (The Gong-Gong Song)” by the Ikettes. Once I wrote the second verse I knew I wanted to add Captain Sky’s “Super Sperm.” Which was one of the best breakbeat songs out! I added it right after the line “not falling in love but I’m falling for your…” – Pepa
02:33 – My favorite detail was being in Coney Island, such an important part of my childhood. I used to go there with my family then my friends as a teen, so shooting my own video in Coney Island was a full circle moment for me. – Salt
02:55 – I had to jump through hoops for “Shoop” to be the first single off the ‘Very Necessary’ album. The label gave me a lot of push back since Hurby [Luv Bug] didn’t produce or write the song. Ultimately, it was an undeniable hit that took Salt-N-Pepa to the next level, and solidified our worth to hip-hop. Such a dope feeling. – Pepa
03:23 – I was ready to be emancipated from Hurby not only as my boyfriend and manager, but also as a creative. We wanted to be free to express ourselves on our own. “Shoop” was empowering for women. Fans always tell us it’s their go-to karaoke song. – Salt
03:40 – When we were planning the video, I wasn’t in the best shape. Luckily, we ended up being scheduled to shoot after our trip to Russia. I was a little culture shocked and couldn’t get used to the white nights and food, by the time we got back I had lost a lot of weight and I was ready to Shoop! – Pepa
Mike Gordon has announced a new solo album, Flying Games, along with June and July tour dates, bringing him to Webster Hall in Manhattan and Town Ballroom in Buffalo.
Photo Credit: Rene Huemer
Flying Games (ATO Records/Megaplum) will be released on Friday, May 12 and is produced by Gordon, recorded by longtime collaborator Jared Slomoff, and mixed by GRAMMY-winning engineer Shawn Everett (Alabama Shakes, The War on Drugs).
For me Tilting is about being in a situation or a relationship where you don’t know if your footing is solid, but then accepting that and realizing you enjoy the feeling of disorientation. Whether it’s playing music or driving or experiencing something new, I’ve always felt more present when I don’t know where I’m going next.
The eclectic sixth solo LP from Mike Gordon, Flying Games is an album of constant and wildly hypnotic movement, each moment animated by unexpected sounds that morph and expand and spin off into their own strange orbits. Flying Games follows Gordon’s most recent solo works, 2020’s Noon and 2017’s OGOGO. The LP imbues elements of everything from disco and dancehall to psych-folk and funk into Gordon’s unfettered and expansive breed of rock music.
To create Flying Games, the Vermont-based Gordon spent much of 2020’s lockdown and – writing and recording in his makeshift Megaplum home studio, immersing himself in sonic experiments ranging from the playfully spontaneous (constructing beats by banging wrenches against various pieces of farming equipment) to the hyper-specific and technical (programming a keyboard with chords sampled from’50s-era Hawaiian guitar records).
As the songs became more fully formed, Gordon brought in contributions from his bandmates, drummer John Kimock, keyboardist Robert Walter, percussionist Craig Myers, and guitarist/pedal-steel player Scott Murawski, all of whom submitted parts from afar which were then woven by Gordon and Slomoff into the initial tracks. Revealing entirely new dimensions of the kaleidoscopic musicianship Gordon has displayed as Phish’s bassist for the last four decades, the result is a work of both extraordinary vision and daring execution.
As someone who comes from a world of telepathic improvisation, the idea of one person layering sounds alone in a room might seem a bit against the mythos. But with this record I didn’t want to work in that traditional way of going into a studio with a band and recording for two weeks; I wanted to take my time and explore, and really go deep into the fabric of the music to see what we could find.
Mike Gordon
Gordon, bassist for Phish, will celebrate the release of Flying Games with a tour that includes headline shows and performances at Peach, Northlands and Blue Ox festivals. Tickets for all newly announced headline dates go on sale Friday, March 17 with pre-sales underway.
Two Hudson Valley Dark Cabaret bands, Frenchy and the Punk and Dust Bowl Faeries, will be bringing their blissful and maniacal music to Colony Woodstock on Thursday, March 30th. Dancing and magical happenings will kick off at 8pm that evening.
What is Dark Cabaret? This unique genre draws on the aesthetics of burlesque, vaudeville and Weimar-era cabaret, with live performances that borrow from the stylings of goth and punk. Frenchy and the Punk are an unorthodox, evocative electro-acoustic Dark Cabaret/post-punk duo based in the Hudson Valley. With exotic melodies and European-inflected percussive textures, they invoke a dark carnival of two that they take on the road across the US, UK and in Europe.
French-born singer Samantha Stephenson sings with a gothy heft and authority that may remind one generation of Siouxsie Sioux and another of Grace Slick. Guitarist, live looper, and former punk bass player, Scott Helland weaves dark riffs and layers of spidery melody in an acoustic/electric tone that is entirely his own.
Dark Carnival/Dream Music group Dust Bowl Faeries, best lauded by Bay Area Reporter in 2020 as “Americana by way of pagan cabaret,” are a faerie-tale fusion of dark cabaret, delirious polka and gothic spaghetti western music. Based in the New York Hudson Valley, the band’s eclectic repertoire of songs draw inspiration from circus songs, murder ballads and Eastern European folk tunes.
Accordion, singing saw and acoustic guitar combine to create the Dust Bowl Faeries otherworldly sound. The band was founded by Ryder Cooley (faerie queen) and her taxidermy spirit animal, Hazel the Ram. Ryder and Hazel are joined by Jon B. Woodin (rocket faerie), Liz LoGiudice (river faerie), Andrew Stein (time faerie) & Rubie LaRue (feisty faerie). American Highways says of them, “You can almost smell the gas lamps in the street & the absinthe being poured.”
Saturday, March 4th, saw The National playing a surprise and intimate concert at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock. The show served as a warmup for their upcoming spring and summer tour, supporting their upcoming album First Two Pages Of Frankenstein. The show, presented by Radio Woodstock, had only been announced only a few days earlier.
The National treated fans who drove across the country and arrived from Canada and Europe to a 19-song set, including 10 of the upcoming album’s 11 tracks and classic songs such as “Graceless” and “Fake Empire.” The performance was similar to July 2017, when The National performed Sleep Well Beast at Basilica Hudson.
Prior to the Woodstock show, The National appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Friday to play “Tropic Morning News.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms0QaFbkth8
Catch The National on tour this summer at Madison Square Garden on August 18 with Patti Smith and her band.
Setlist: Once Upon a Poolside (Live debut), Eucalyptus, New Order T-Shirt (Live debut), This Isn’t Helping, Tropic Morning News, Alien (Live debut), Grease in Your Hair, Ice Machines, Your Mind Is Not Your Friend (Live debut), Send for Me (Live debut), Don’t Swallow the Cap, Bloodbuzz Ohio, The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness, Light Years, Graceless, Fake Empire, Terrible Love, About Today, Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks
