Funky, jam band powerhouse Dopapod stopped in The Williams Center in Rutherford, NJ on Thursday, March 28. The Jungle Jazz Initiative opened up the night, offering a groovy and entertaining set, fitting in well with Dopapod’s sound.
Dopapod’s first set was only 4 songs, which was full of jams and featured a good representation of their career with newer and older songs. It started out with a danceable “Live In the Dream” followed by a Dopapod classic “Turnin’ Knobs” which featured the electronic, synth heavy peaks. Another catchy classic closed up the set, “Braindead”. The chorus is still ringing in my head.
The band opened up the second set with a very distinguishable “Trapper Keeper”. This was followed by an unexpected “No Quarter” played with ferocity. The rest of the set included newer and older songs that flowed together incredibly well. And suddenly a Dead cover appeared, Dopapod’s homage “Smertha” was played to close up the set.
The band encored with “Landmines”. Dopapod’s sound is unique and is distinguishable in a scene that can at times be homogenous. Their unique style provides a refreshing experience and will continue to gather fans.
Dopapod – The Williams Center for the Arts, Rutherford, NJ – Thursday, March 28, 2024
Set 1: Live in The Dream, Turninâ Knobs, Man or Machine, Braindead Set 2: Trapper Keeper, No Quarter, Ebb and Flow, My Elephant Vs. Your Elephant, Peter Banning, Sonic, 2 Somebodies, We Are Not Alone, Shmertha Encore: Landmines
Award-winning artist Maxwell has announced The Serenade North American tour which will make a stop at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on September 25, and at Prudential Center in Newark, on October 6
Over the course of more than 20 years, Maxwell has skillfully captured the attention of music enthusiasts by releasing five studio albums that were all well-received as gems in their own right. When the soul singer released Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite, his highly regarded Columbia-debut in April 1996, it completely changed the genre of soul music. The singer-songwriter and record producer Maxwell, will be joined by special guest two-time Grammy winner and R&B powerhouse Jazmine Sullivan and a rising singer-songwriter October London. Maxwellâs return to the road, with the Serenade Tour marks a reunion with Jazmine Sullivan, who joined him on his Maxwell 08 Tour.
Jazmine Sullivan’s 2008 debut album Fearless, debuted at number one on Billboard’s top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart and was nominated for seven Grammy awards, including Best R&B Album and Best New Artist. Sullivan’s natural talent to write songs that beautifully convey the experiences of so many women -especially Black women, was evident in her debut single, “Need U Bad.” Sullivan has a poetic vulnerability that gives many listeners the impression that she has been studying their journals.
Also joining the Serenade North American tour is October London, Indiana-based rising star in the music industry. London is a singer-songwriter and producer who just finished his first US tour. His engaging album The Rebirth of Marvinhonors the legendary Marvin Gaye, and the catchy track “Back to Your Place” shot to the top of the R&B radio charts and went on to dominate charts across the country, spending an incredible two weeks at the top of the iTunes R&B Soul Charts. After obtaining a contract with the legendary Snoop Dogg in 2016, October London is still breaking new ground in modern music, mesmerizing audiences with his extraordinary skill and limitless imagination.
Tickets for The Serenade Tour will go on sale on Friday, March 29 at 10 AM via musze.com
Maxwell The Serenade Tour Dates
9/14 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood
9/15 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena
9/17 – Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum
9/20 – Hampton, VA – Hampton Coliseum
9/21 – Baltimore, MD – CFG Bank Arena
9/24 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
9/25 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
9/27 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
9/28 – Birmingham, AL – Legacy Arena at the BJCC
9/29 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
10/1 – Louisville, KY – KFC Yum! Center
10/3 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center
10/4 – Washington DC – Capital One Arena
10/6 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
10/9 – Indianapolis, IN – Gainbridge Fieldhouse
10/10 – Chicago, IL – United Center
10/11 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesarâs Arena
10/13 – St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center
10/16 – Memphis, TN – FedEx Forum
10/18 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
10/19 – New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center
10/20 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
10/23 – San Diego, CA – Viejas Arena
10/25 – Oakland, CA – Oakland Arena
10/26 – Las Vegas, NV – Bakkt Theater at Planet Hollywood
It’s approaching ten years since NYC Irish rock mainstay Black 47 took their final bow at the now-dark BB King’s Blues Club in November 2014, and what an indelible performance that became. For long-time bassist Joe Burcaw, who earned the nickname “Bearclaw,” life in the time since Black 47 has been a rewarding and fruitful respite from life on the road, going from a touring musician to maintaining has passion for music as a small business owner in Connecticut. Then came 2020 when the pandemic changed the world as we know it especially in discourse of social and political issues and garnered explosions in divisiveness.
But for Burcaw this sparked and inspired the need to speak out through his creative outlet as not only a way to release steam but to also invoke thought. This grew into a new studio project, recently releasing a new EP titled Four On The Floor. It is first-class in its talent, production, and writing, and features a distinctive rock and roll voice. Burcaw took a deep dive into the project with NYS Music, along with his music school Bearclaw’s Academy of Music and of course, some reflections on Black 47.
Joe Burcaw with Black 47, 2014
Steve Malinski: Can you tell us how things came to be with Four on the Floor?
Joe Burcaw: The bass player for Living Colour lives up the street from me and I connected with him back in 2017 and took some lessons. I was at a point with my playing where it was it was a bit stagnant and I needed some inspiration. So, Doug’s an incredible inspiration and from Living Colour, one of my favorite bands. So I reached out to his wife actually, who manages him to look into doing some lessons and that led to us working together. He was familiar with Black 47 and he had asked me one session if I would be interested in doing some writing. He produces and writes and I said I would be honored. So we were writing a couple of tunes and were at the point where we need it and felt like it was all instrumental music, very dance oriented, very Euro sounding, with the emphasis on the bass guitars. But we felt like we needed a voice to mix things up a little bit. And he suggested, why don’t I call Corey? I’m thinking to myself in the back of my head, yeah, sure love the world with Corey Glover. So he called Corey, and Corey was totally into it. He came up for a couple sessions and he and I just hit it off. Just had a really nice rapport. And I had said to him at one point and I asked him if he’d be interested in maybe separately doing some songwriting together and he said I would love to. We kept in contact and then came the lockdown. So he and I were always in contact with each other.
Then with the pandemic happening in March of 2020, here we are, everybody’s at home idle, not sure what to do with themselves or their lives, wondering what’s happening with this… this disease. So I thought to myself, first off, I couldn’t get over the amount of discord and the amount of pain that people were going through. And then, you know, I read the New York Times and it made me aware of how there was an uptick in the amount of domestic abuse happening with a lot of women and children who were stuck in situations where they just could not get out and were stuck with their abusive partner. And also with the George Floyd Marches – with him, you know, being killed, the injustices, and the Black Lives Matters uprising. Just like everything was coming to a head and I just felt, I felt the need to call my musician friends and do something about this and get this off my chest – and our chest – and write. So I called up Corey and the mutual friend of ours, Jamie McDonald, and the three of us would have sessions every week bouncing ideas off of each other, lyrical ideas. It was mostly lyrical ideas and just subject matter that we could talk about and put into the lyrics of the songs. And we did that for about two year and a half, two years, and then, you know, it kind of evolved into into this EP. We weren’t sure what we were going to do with it, and then it just kind of evolved naturally into the EP. So that’s a roundabout description of how we got together.
SM: So it kind of started as a way for you guys just to kind of have this release of all the all the stress from basically the world and the pandemic and then it’s like, hey, we got something going, let’s put it on record.
JB: Yeah, that’s basically what happened. And having Corey be so open minded and into the idea of writing with us and recording with us was, to me, it was an honor. I mean, he’s my favorite by far, my favorite vocalist ever. I think he’s very underrated as a vocalist and feel like he needs way more of a spotlight than he gets. He’s a very humble human being and one of those guys where you sit in the room with him and there’s just this ease. He’s just a real gem to be around and I consider him a friend now. So it for me it’s been mind-blowing to be able to call him a friend and a working peer.
SM: So awesome. And yeah, the the first track “Zig Zag” caught my attention with like the really strong bass funk groove. And then Corey’s voice comes in and I’m just like, holy smokes, this is awesome, his voice was so distinctive.
JB: It’s undeniable that when you hear that voice and you know who it is, that’s for darn sure. And with Corey, he doesn’t have that ostentatious way about him, he’s not trying to show off. He is one of those people that has an incredible register. He never goes out of pitch, which is, for me, incredible to watch and he has so much power. I feel like his voice has gotten stronger now than it was back when Vivid came out or Time’s Up or Stain which were popular back 30 plus years ago.
So, getting back on “Zig Zag,” that song talks about having a conversation and avoiding having the conversation. And what I mean by that is that folks in this country need to really step up and be aware that racism is a is a is a problem. Still, it’s been a problem for hundreds of years.
And we’re creating a platform for people to come and talk about this and see about being able to resolve the issues and problems that the black community has been suffering and going through for all these years. Musically, I had written the music for that about a year prior to showing it to the guys. The impetus of the song really came from The Pretenders, who I’m a fan of. I was listening to…what was the song…, “My City Is Gone,” and heard a really great bass line played by Tony Butler from the band Big Country. He did session work on the Learning to Crawl album and just always that bass line just kind of stuck in my head. So I kind of (no pun intended) based the song kind of around that line; the groove is very similar to that Pretenders song and I showed it to the guys and they were really into it.. So that’s the lead single. It’s the song that we just really feel encapsulates what we’re trying to do with this project. It’s a project of community service and trying to get back to the community through our music and for inviting people to listen to it and join us on the ride.
SM: Getting further into the songs, “Mighty Real” – the thing that stuck out to me is the intro, layering all the the voices with dance type feel and then it jumps from a minor key to the major key where you get to the that classic disco feel. What can you say about that song?
JB: Corey and I are big fans of Sylvester, and that’s a remake. Sylvester had a disco tune that came out in maybe ‘79 in the “disco sucks” era, unfortunately. But Sylvester was a drag performer. He was part of a troupe called The Cockettes. They’re based out of San Francisco and they would travel from coast to coast to New York and San Francisco and other areas around the country. And that was his biggest hit. It was such a great dance track and I just remember when I was a kid hearing it, just loving it, because of the bass and the drums, the interplay between the rhythm section… it just really it really floored me as a kid. When I learned that Corey was into it as well we just discussed, why don’t we do a more modern version of the song and kind of make it our own? And add a guitar solo because on the original track there’s some rhythm guitar but there’s no solo whatsoever on that. I envisioned having this really big thought-out masterpiece outro solo. I had Vernon Reed and Missus Smith in mind. I reached out to Missus Smith first and she was totally into the idea of it.
I love, the idea of having this dance form, dance floor feel and then having this rippin’ guitar solo that lasts for 60+seconds. Just bombastic shredding. I think it really it makes the listeners kind of tilt their head going whoa, wasn’t expecting this! because it starts out really dancey and then it as it continues to the bridge section it gets harder and harder with the guitars being more upfront in the mix. We did that intentionally to have a build-up crescendo towards the end. So that song is the second single.
“Ode to Ustad”: Ustad Sultan Khan was a classical Indian musician and I first got turned on to him through Warren Cuccurullo who’s the guitar player used to play with Frank Zappa, Missing Persons, and Duran Duran. I’m a big fan of his playing and he put a record out with this gentleman, titled The Master. And it was all Indian-fused music with a lot of drones and a lot of chanting in it and just I’ve always loved the music and it just really struck a chord with me and was one of those instances where I was thinking to myself, wow, I know this guy really has influenced me and I haven’t really paid homage to that and I wanted to do so. So that’s why II titled it “Ode to Ustad.” And I wanted to have the music be more focused on Indian ragas and Indian drones and it’s all me playing it on the bass. I played six string synth bass and four string bass on that particular track.
There’s also an ongoing theme of all four songs on the EP. The reason it’s called Four on the Floor is because all the songs are 110 beats per minute or higher. So it’s kind of got that dance, you know, four on the floor kind of kind of feel.
SM: Lastly, “House Arrest” seems to link directly to the pandemic times. What kind of message are you getting to in this song?
JB: Well, it’s strictly about domestic abuse. It’s coming down on, as I said at the top of the conversation, coming down on people who are abusive to their partners and their children and also shedding light that there is hope. And there if somebody needs to get out of a situation you do it. And I know that’s easier said than done. But I’m hoping that people can listen to the track and get some inspiration and maybe make a choice that they weren’t thinking about making before listening to it, to get out of a situation that’s tumultuous, dangerous, something that that could harm the person or their family. I specifically got that idea from a New York Times article that I read. It was probably May of 2020 about when the uptick in abuse since COVID happened and people were blocking down together. That was a reaction to that. I had the first stanza down and then I showed it to the guys and we collaborated on finishing the rest of the lyrics. So, a lot of lyrics on that.
It’s a lengthy one but we just felt like we needed to have all of those words in there to get the point across. We’re happy with the way that came out, that the song has a (as far as the bass line is concerned) more of a chic-meets-Duran Duran kind of feel to it. I wrote it specifically for Corey’s voice, for a lot of the inflections that he adds to music and wanted to not get in the way of the vocal line and create a lot of space for it, especially during the verse sections where he could ad-lib a little more and not have me get in the way of the music.
SM: So who how did the virtual/remote production process go given all the moving parts?
JB: What happened was, as far as the tracking I have a DAW set up at home, I have Logic [production software] and then Corey had Garage Band And our mutual friend Jamie has Pro Tools. So, we were sending files and I was just recording my bass at home and sending it over. Jamie was doing a lot of tweaks. He’s really good with engineering. Then I had another person come in and do some mixing as well to help out with that. And then as far as you know, then I sent it to Disk Makers for mastering, had that mastered and then here we are. So yeah, everything was done on our own.
It was a real DIY instance since we weren’t able to go into the traditional studio to record and track. It was… it was different. I mean it proved to me that it’s possible to make a decent sounding record from home. Would I do it again? I don’t know. I like the idea of getting into a room and bashing out parts with other musicians there to kind of vibe off of each other. So that’s kind of more my preference as opposed to virtually recording.
SM: Yeah, I suppose it’s different if you’re just recording a backing track that somebody else wrote for you but when you’re putting your heart and soul into it, definitely the whole face to face thing is priceless.
JB: It is, yeah. We’re human beings and that’s how you work off each other. You feel what’s coming from the other human, whether that’s good or bad. With us it was great. So, I would love for us to get into the studio and do some more. There’s talk of us doing some more. I think going forward we’d like to make more in the way of singles as opposed to a full length album or EP. It’s just easier by doing it that way. We got lucky just because of lockdown that everybody was around that we were able to do that [full EP]. But now that things have opened up a bit more, I don’t know, Corey’s out on the road a bunch with Living Colour right now.
They’re playing with Extreme and had a success with that. So he’s not home much, but I did talk to him right before he left for his tour and we’re going to get back together once he gets home and work on some more ideas.
SM: I was going to ask if you guys were going to get together again and record, but do you think you might also schedules a line up to maybe do a short live show somewhere.
JB: Yeah, we’re we’re in talk talks of doing that right now [later in 2024]*. I own the music school [Bearclaw’s Academy of Music] and we’re looking to do a fundraiser for kids who can’t afford instruments or lessons, and we want to raise some money for kids that are under-privileged and not able to do so. So it would be maybe a half hour set if if that. It’s not going to be a real long thing because you know again it’s going to be during the afternoon, it’s not going to be at night. But yeah, we’re talking about that if Corey will be around.
So I think we’ll be able to do that with this project. It’s not a touring entity. It’s a studio project built around community service and giving back and writing about topical situations that not everybody talks about, ones that sometimes get thrown under the rug, like with the racism, with gay rights, with immigration oppression, domestic violence. So the idea of doing what I did with Black 47, hitting the road consistently… I just don’t think that would be feasible at this point. But one-offs, definitely. We’ll definitely do one-offs here and there.
SM: So to shift gears a little bit, how are things with your music school? You’ve been running the school for 8 or 9 years now?
JB: Yeah, yeah, it’ll be 8 years. Oh, it’s great. I love it. I really enjoy being able to be a small business owner and to teach and to kind of run the show on my own. I mean, it’s a lot of arduous work. I’m a one-man operation so I have to do everything as far as coordinating all the scheduling of my teachers and financial things as far as taking care of payroll and all that. So it’s a lot on top of teaching since I have a lot of a lot of students that I teach bass guitar and ukulele too. It’s very satisfying. I love that I can wake up and know that I don’t have to go into a nine-to-five because I’ve done that in the past and this way don’t have to listen to anybody barking orders at me. My wife is a small business owner too, she’s a music therapist so she’s taught me a lot as far as just how to run a business properly and has given me a lot of advice and assistance with that end of things.
So it’s going great. But again, it was difficult during the COVID days of 2020 and even for the last two, two and a half years it’s been kind of a rebuilding because back then virtually everybody, I mean the world, shut down and thank goodness for virtual teaching and for virtual lessons. I was able to continue doing that and it kept my business afloat while we were not able to get into the building. I look forward to branching out and to expanding and to get back to where we were right before COVID, we were doing really well with a lot of lot of students coming in. Now we’re about 75% and we’re picking up. But again, you have to keep in consideration so many people lost their jobs, so many people moved out of the area. You know, there’s so many circumstances and variables that that affect people not coming back.
SM: Yeah, different folks re-prioritizing things…
Larry Kirwan (center) sharing a song with friend Mary Courtney (left) and bandmate Joe “Bearclaw” Burcaw (right)
JB: Yeah it’s true. I’ve been really, really happy with that. It’s my new life. You know, I had an old life as a touring musician with Black 47, and now I’m small business owner. Like what? Really. I mean, I do still perform. I have a Jimi Hendrix tribute band that I play in with some buddies of mine from Boston and we play out every once in a while with that, which is nice. So it keeps me in the game a little bit as far as live performance is concerned because I really don’t get to play live that much. I have a three-year old as well, so I’m a relatively newer dad.
SM: Oh, Congrats!
JB: Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. So got a lot on my plate, that’s for sure.
SM: So do you work with both kids and adults?
JB: We do. I mean primarily kids, but we do have some older adults that are more retired age come in for lessons. I mean we’re “everybody’s welcomed with open arms” but we just find that most it’s mostly kids that do come in for the for the lessons. I do have a couple of students that I teach virtually as well that are overseas that are adults Amsterdam, UK and it’s great. I love being able to do that. It’s so convenient that you can walk down into your studio in your house, get hard wired in, get on Wi-Fi, and boom. You know, it’s fantastic to be able to communicate with somebody that’s thousands of miles away on the other side of the planet.
SM: I’ve had experience taking some group drumming lessons with a teacher in Scotland, so it’s like 5:00 PM there and we’re just having our coffee over here while we’re all in different locations. Definitely it works, but not preferred, I’ll say that.
JB: Yeah, I have to say with at least for me with bass guitar and teaching guitar it’s fine. I can understand for some instruments like drums it might be a little difficult. I mean you can do it. Obviously piano is a little more difficult because of the hand situation where you have to get the camera where it’s looking down on the kids’ hands to see if their positioning is correct and also being able to look at the person and being able to dictate what you want them to do. So it is hard with the with the piano, but I found I’ve had no problem. The only problem I ran into is there’s a bit of latency, so using a metronome is a little dicey. So, I wouldn’t recommend that until we get more software that’s more reliable. But aside from that, I love it. I really enjoy doing that.
Thomas Hamlin, Joe Burcaw, Geoffrey Blythe, Fred Parcells, and Joseph Mulvanerty (l-r) of Black 47, Peekskill September 2014
SM: Before we wrap up… Black 47, obviously that’s been a big part of your life. I see the six albums hanging up there on your wall.
JB: Yes, there they are.
SM: So you recorded six with them?
JB: I did. I did 3 studio and then one of them is the DVD Live at Connolly’s and then the other two are compilation records. So there were three I recorded on – Iraq, Bankers and Gangsters, and Last Call, as far as the studio albums are concerned.
SM: Yikes, it’s been 9, going on 10 years this coming November since Black 47 wrapped up. Having this much time since then, what does the experience feel like now versus, say, like the day after that last show at BB King’s in NYC?
JB: I don’t even feel like it was the same person. I don’t even know who that guy was. My, life has changed so drastically since that last night at BB King’s, just, you know, I got divorced. I got remarried. I had a kid. Both my parents passed away and I opened up my own business. You know, within 10 years all of this stuff happened. So it was very surreal to say the say the least. But I wasn’t despondent, you know, there wasn’t any type of despondency.. But it was a lot, you know, it’s a lot to take in. I mean first off, when you’re in a band and play with the band for just under a decade, these guys were my family. That’s the thing with Black 47 people need to understand as well, is that these guys took me under their wing, accepted me. I was never… I mean the joke was I was always the new guy, Bearclaw, the new guy. But I was never treated that way. And I always felt like I was there from day one, even though I was too young to be a part of the band. Back then, you know, when they started out, I was still a teenager. So that wouldn’t have worked out. But every night that I got on stage with those guys… I never took it for granted. I would look around at these five musicians and just thank, thank whoever the source for putting me there with them because I love the band. I was a fan before I got to play with them. Well, I first got turned on to them on 120 Minutes on MTV and saw them do “40 Shades of Blue” as one of the lead tracks that they were pushing on top of “Funky Ceili.” And I just thought to myself, wow, this is very interesting having the uilleann pipes mixed in with the Irish theme on top of having the sophistication of songwriting like Bruce Springsteen mixed in with The Clash. So then I got to see him at TT the Bears Place in Cambridge, MA when I was up in college in Rhode Island. I was just floored. My jaw hit the hit the ground just in awe at the musicianship and just the power that they exuded. That really struck me, the power of that band. And then almost 10 years later, I’m pinching myself. I’m standing on stage with him.
SM: And that was just a lucky chance, too, right? I recall you mentioned last time we spoke that it was an ambiguous newspaper ad?
JB: Advert, yeah. And at that point I was in New York City, just banging the pavement, playing with everybody and answering all these different various adverts. And there happened to be “one touring band looking for a bass player ASAP. Please submit.” So I sent my EPK and didn’t hear from them until, I don’t know. Hammy [drummer] called me a week later, using a pseudonym. He didn’t even lead on to who he was until a couple phone calls later and he got a good feel for me. And then yeah, he invited me. He just asked if I was playing out. I happened to be playing out with a band on a particular weekend that he was available and he came down to the show. I didn’t think he showed up because he didn’t introduce himself.
So I finished performing with this band and nobody was there. But I come to find out that there was a torrential downpour during this gig and he got soaked and wanted to go home before the end. But he did get to see me and was really impressed and asked me to come down for an audition. And yeah, he left me a voicemail and asked if I’d be interested in coming down. And yeah, the rest is history. So awesome. They put me on retainer for about a month after my audition then for 8 to 10 shows to see how it goes. And then after New Year’s, I think going into 2006, they asked me to become a full, full time member. The rest is history.
*Editors’ note: the potential date of the fundraiser event changed since the time of the interview from spring 2024 to fall 2024.
Waterparks is a dynamic, genre bending trio hailing from Houston, Texas, consisting of charismatic frontman Awsten Knight, guitarist Geoff Wigington, and drummer Otto Wood. With their high-energy stage presence and genre-defying sound, Waterparks has become a force to be reckoned with in the alternative music scene.
Waterparks brought their electrifying energy and infectious enthusiasm to the MGM Music Hall at Fenway Park as part of “The Sneaking out of Heaven Tour,” with fans lined up around the venue as early as 3 AM, these fans left in awe with a high-octane performance and unforgettable moments.
From the moment they stepped onstage, frontman Awsten Knight and his bandmates captivated the crowd with their signature blend of pop-rock anthems and irresistible hooks. The atmosphere was electric as fans sang along to every word, their voices blending harmoniously with the band’s infectious melodies.
Throughout the night, Waterparks delivered one memorable moment after another, from Awsten’s impromptu phone call to a fan’s boss, quitting their job on their behalf, to the spirited chants of “fuck these kids” and “support the moms.” Awsten’s playful banter and charismatic stage presence kept the energy levels high, while guitarist Geoff whirlwind performance earned him the endearing nickname “Hurricane Geoff.”
The band’s setlist was a perfect mix of old favorites and new hits, with standout moments including fans making Awsten wear a gifted shirt that said “I F*ck Fish”, followed up by their hit “Fuck About It” resulting in a hilarious exchange between Awsten and Otto. Awsten’s solo piano performance on the B stage showcased his versatility as a musician, while his humorous attempt to coax crew member Lucas into an Ed Sheeran cover provided a lighthearted moment of fun.
As the night came to a close, Waterparks left the crowd wanting more with an electrifying encore performance of “Turbulent” and “Real Super Dark” solidifying their status as one of the most exciting acts in modern alternative music. With their infectious energy and undeniable talent, Waterparks proved once again why they are a force to be reckoned with in the music industry.
Setlist: Watch What Happens Next, Blonde, Greatest Hits Medley (Fuzzy / Violet! / American Graffiti / The Secret Life of Me / Just Kidding / See You in the Future / Lowkey As Hell), Why Can’t I [Liz Phair cover], Stupid for You, You’d Be Paranoid Too (If Everyone Was Out to Get You), SOULSUCKER, SNEAKING OUT OF HEAVEN, Magnetic, RITUAL, SELF-SABOTAGE, BRAINWASHED, FUCK ABOUT IT, High Definition, Snow Globe, Crying Over It All, 21 Questions, I Miss Having Sex but at Least I Don’t Wanna Die Anymore, FUNERAL GREY
Béla Fleck reflects highly on his years-long collaboration with late pianist Chick Corea, sounding like a bashful student musician, still in awe of the jazz legend whose impact transformed him as a teenager in the ’70s. The duo’s album, Remembrance – out May 10 via Thirty Tigers – serves as a moving final document of the profound creative and personal rapport Fleck and Corea have showcased previously on 2007’s Latin Grammy-winning The Enchantment.
Released just over three years after Corea’s passing, Remembrance serves as an addendum to Corea’s legacy, highlighted by three previously unreleased Corea compositions as well as five short free improvisations, or impromptus, that Fleck has infused with written music.
Recorded both live in concert, over the duo’s final tour dates in 2019, Remembrance was crafted by trading sound files amid the Covid pandemic. Running a stylistic gamut, the album features Corea’s unreleased tunes “Enut Nital” (“Latin Tune,” spelled backwards), and “Continuance,” an older work that resurfaced in the duo’s setlist, as well as new Fleck compositions, including “The Otter Creek Incident” and “Juno,” a winsome tribute to his son, the channeling Thelonious Monk and Scarlatti, and challenging exercises such as “Small Potatoes,” which evokes Corea’s work in the jazz avant-garde.
When the 18-time Grammy Award-winning banjoist reflected on his time collaborating with Corea, Fleck said, “I just feel so lucky to have played with him in such an intimate way, and to have gotten to know him so well.”
The title track, a Corea composition “Remembrance,” is one of the last pieces of music Chick ever recorded. “It’s just one of those perfect Chick Corea tunes,” Fleck says. “It sounds to me like a New Orleans funeral march, even though it has a Latin component, like everything he did tended to.”
Corea’s death in 2021 devastated the jazz community, who saw the pianist as a constant international presence, a vibrant musician who never ceased touring and recording. “It was a deep shock,” says Fleck, who also released an inspired live project with Corea, Two, in 2015. “It was one of the special relationships in my life. He was just so kind to me, and so helpful, and I learned so much from him.”
“We pushed this duo to a new place before we ran out of time,” says Fleck, who produced Remembrance. “We have here another cool look at Chick Corea, at the different ways that he can play that we wouldn’t have had. There’s a lot of great Chick Corea out there, and this is different.”
“I know it sounds unlikely. But it really happened. Once upon a time, I played banjo in a duo with Chick Corea.”
“He found the good in everything. I’m just so glad to be a part of this — glad I could be with him, and glad there’s more to share.”
Chick Corea & Béla Fleck Remembrance track listing
1. The Otter Creek Incident (Béla Fleck)
2. impromptu III: march hare
3. Enut Nital (Chick Corea)
4. impromptu II: mock turtle
5. Bemsha Swing (Thelonious Monk, Denzil Best)
6. Lucky Bounce
7. impromptu I: cheshire
8. Remembrance (Chick Corea)
9. Juno (Béla Fleck)
10. Scarlatti Sonatas (Domenico Scarlatti, arr.. By Corea, Fleck)
11. impromptu V: jabberwocky
12. Small Potatoes
13. Continuance (Chick Corea)
14. impromptu IV: gentleman fish
“With Béla, our duet has become so simpatico, and comfortable–comfortable spiritually. And not meaning that we’re not adventuring musically, but I know that whatever we’re going to do is going to be musical.”
Chick Corea, speaking about Bela Fleck, in 2015
Béla Fleck Tour Dates
April 3 Buffalo, NY Kleinhans Music Hall ^
April 4 Oakville, Ontario Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts ^
April 5 Kingston, Ontario Kingston Grand Theatre ^
April 6 Stowe, VT Spruce Peak PAC ^
April 9 Ottawa, Ontario Centrepointe ^
April 10 St. Catharines, Ontario Partridge Hall ^
April 12 State College, PA The State Theatre ^
April 13 Goshen, IN Goshen College ^
April 14 Lexington, KY Lexington Opera House ^
April 24 Skokie, IL North Shore PAC *
April 25 Kohler, WI Kohler Memorial Theatre *
April 26 Royal Oak, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre *
April 27 Wilkesboro, NC MerleFest *
April 28 New Orleans, LA New Orleans Jazz Festival *
May 4 New York, NY Carnegie Hall (Béla Fleck: Rhythm, Raga & Rhapsody)
June 13 Groton, MA Groton Hill Music Center #
June 14 Kingston, NY Ulster PAC #
June 15 Hartford, CT The Bushnell #
June 16 Kennett Square, PA Longwood Gardens #
June 18 Boulder, CO Chautauqua Amphitheater #
June 20 Telluride, CO Telluride Bluegrass Festival (house band)
June 21 Telluride, CO Telluride Bluegrass Festival #
Billy Strings has announced additional tour dates for 2024 that find he and his band playing back-to-back nights in Bridgeport, CT, State College, PA, Worcester, MA, Inglewood, CA and Berkeley, CA.
The summer dates are just the latest added to Strings’ extensive 2024 run, which also includes upcoming stops at Tampa’s Yuengling Center (two nights), St. Augustine’s St. Augustine Amphitheatre (three nights, all sold out), Lexington’s Rupp Arena (two nights, one sold out), Greenwood Village’s Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre (two nights, both sold out), Minneapolis’ The Armory (sold out) and Rosemont, IL’s Allstate Arena (two nights) among others.
Raised in Michigan and now based in Nashville, Strings is known as one of music’s most compelling artists. Most recently, he released “Meet Me At The Creek > Pyramid Country > Must Be Seven > Meet Me At The Creek (Live at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, NC 3/4/23),” a 38-minute live performance that showcases the energy of Strings’ electric concerts. Watch below.
The track follows “California Sober,” his GRAMMY-nominated collaboration with legendary artist Willie Nelson and Strings’ first project since partnering with Reprise Records, as well as his latest full-length album, Me/And/Dad, which features Strings alongside his dad, Terry Barber, and was nominated for Best Bluegrass Album at this year’s GRAMMY Awards.
Since his 2017 debut, Strings has been awarded Best Bluegrass Album at the 63rd GRAMMY Awards, Artist of the Year at the 2023 and 2022 Americana Music Awards, Entertainer of the Year at the 2023, 2022 and 2021 International Bluegrass Music Awards, Best New Headliner at the 2022 Pollstar Awards and Breakthrough Artist of the Pandemic at the 2021 Pollstar Awards among several other accolades. He has also performed on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” PBS’ “Austin City Limits” and “Bluegrass Underground.”
Tickets for the new shows will be available for pre-sale starting March 13 at 10am local time with general on-sale following Friday, March 15 at 10am local time. Full details can be found here.
BILLY STRINGS 2024 TOUR DATES
April 12—Tampa, FL—Yuengling Center
April 13—Tampa, FL—Yuengling Center
April 17—Savannah, GA—Enmarket Arena
April 19—St. Augustine, FL—St. Augustine Amphitheatre (SOLD OUT)
April 20—St. Augustine, FL—St. Augustine Amphitheatre (SOLD OUT)
April 21—St. Augustine, FL—St. Augustine Amphitheatre (SOLD OUT)
April 26—Lexington, KY—Rupp Arena
April 27—Lexington, KY—Rupp Arena (SOLD OUT)
May 11—Conroe, TX—Big As Texas Festival
May 17—Greenwood Village, CO—Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre (SOLD OUT)
May 18—Greenwood Village, CO—Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre (SOLD OUT)
May 21—Minneapolis, MN—The Armory (SOLD OUT)
May 24—Rosemont, IL—Allstate Arena
May 25—Rosemont, IL—Allstate Arena
June 22-23—Columbus, OH—Buckeye Country Superfest
July 14—Whitefish, MT—Under The Big Sky Festival
July 19—Redmond, OR—FairWell Festival
July 26—Bridgeport, CT—Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater
July 27—Bridgeport, CT—Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater
July 30—Worcester, MA—DCU Center
July 31—Worcester, MA—DCU Center
August 2—State College, PA—Bryce Jordan Center
August 3—State College, PA—Bryce Jordan Center
August 10—Quincy, WA—Outlaw Music Festival
August 17—Berkeley, CA—Greek Theatre at U.C. Berkeley
August 18—Berkeley, CA—Greek Theatre at U.C. Berkeley
New Haven, Connecticut is mainly seen as the smaller market city that the prestigious Yale University calls home. Some might not know that steps from the university sit the legendary club known as Toad’s Place.
The rock club has housed legendary acts such as The Rolling Stones, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel and Stevie Ray Vaughan. This time around, on Wednesday, March 5, Mammoth WVH returned to the legendary rock club. After releasing their sophomore record, Mammoth IIon Aug. 4, 2024, the band is currently on their “Mammoth II Tour” supporting their newest album.
Before Mammoth WVH graced the almost 50-year stage, guitarist Nita Strauss of the Alice Cooper band warmed up the crowd with her solo act. Joining Strauss on stage was Christopher Dean on bass, Johnny Young on guitar, Katt Scarlett on keyboards, Kasey Karlsen on lead vocals and her fiancee, Josh Villalta on the drums.
Strauss provided amazing guitar skills throughout the opening set that dazzled the sold-out crowd. Being the in-house guitarist for the National League Football team, The Los Angeles Rams since 2020, Strauss has gained national attention for her guitar prowess and did not disappoint.
During Strauss’ nine-song setlist, she wowed the crowd with her signature sound which can be heard on her newest record, The Call of the Void. At one point in the show, Strauss took a minute between songs to recognize the legendary Toad’s Place. “Even out in California, we know about the legendary Toad’s Place and Pepe’s pizza!” brought a thunderous roar from the audience which was beginning to swell larger. With the band headbanging in unison, some of the Toad’s attendees joined in as the band did more than enough to warm the rainy New Haven crowd for Mammoth WVH.
The opening riff of AC/DC’s “Night Prowler” off of 1979’s Highway to Hell blasted over the PA system like thunder strike and the house lights dimmed. The anticipation for the Mammoth WVH’s second trip to Toad’s was palpable. Even with the house lights dimmed and fans packed wall to wall like a can of sardines, the headbanging again picked up while fans held their drinks and the rock horns up. As Mammoth jumped right into “I’m Alright” off the MammothII, as mentioned earlier, the band played a 15-song setlist that lasted just over an hour and a half.
Joining the ranks of Mammoth WVH is, Wolfgang Van Halen (son of the late, Eddie Van Halen) on guitar and lead vocals, Jon Jourdan on guitar, Ronnie Ficarro on bass, and Garrett Whitlock on the drums. Frank Sidoris tours as a third guitarist with the band but this time around he was on the road with Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators.
The crowd, which was of all ages, had smiles across their face like kids on Christmas for the entire set. Mammoth WVH performed at Toad’s two years ago on the double bill “Young Guns Tour” with Dirty Honey. Like the first time, Mammoth’s performance did not disappoint.
In between songs, Van Halen was smiling and playing along with the crowd. While he did not speak for a long time in between songs (certainly not as long as Paul Stanley of KISS), when he did though, he was laughing with his band and talking to members of the audience along the barricade.
At one point in the show, before the start of “Distance” off of 2021’s Mammoth WVH, the rest of the band, besides Van Halen exited the stage, for Van Halen to play an acoustic version of the song. With Oasis’ “Wonderwall” jokingly being played for a brief second at the start, the bone-chillingly beautiful rendition of the tune left lasting memories on the crowd. Typically during a Mammoth WVH performance, while the music is clear, at times with all the instruments you can’t fully grasp each individually. During “Distance,” you were able to fully grasp how great of a musician Van Halen is. His voice is amazing and his guitar skills are mind-blowing. It doesn’t take long to understand why he recorded every instrument track on the first two albums.
The energy of the entire band on stage kept the thrill alive in the audience which was entirely general admission. With Whitlock beating the daylights out of his drums, which kept each song moving forward, the rest of the band was in another gear. It’s easy to see how close of a tight-knit group they are. Each band member was able to feed off the other and bring out the best of the band.
With only two albums under the band’s belt, they were able to play multiple tracks from each of the first two albums. If you were hoping to hear some classic Van Halen, then this show isn’t the one for you. The band does not play anything Van Halen which is a great thing. Wolfgang is an excellent songwriter and overall great musician so it’s amazing to see what he has accomplished so far.
Mammoth WVH is one of the up-and-coming bands in rock music and the fan base is growing larger and larger every day. It’s only a matter of time until they sell out much bigger venues than Toad’s Place. There is very little to hate about this band. If you’re looking for a hungry band with excellent musicianship then this is the band for you.
With fans pilling out onto York Street, what was once a crowded venue turned into a crowded street. The cold and wet night did not keep fans away from standing outside the side door waiting to meet the band just minutes after they walked off the stage. With Toad’s Place dubbing themselves “The place that legends play,” fans exited the venue on Tuesday night knowing that they saw another rock legend in the making.
Nita Strauss Setlist: Summer Storm, Our Most Desperate Hour, Mariana Trench, Alegria, The Quest / Drum Solo, The Wolf You Feed, Through the Noise, Dead Inside, Victorious
Mammoth WVH Setlist: I’m Alright, Right?, Epiphany, Miles Above Me, Like a Pastime, Horribly Right, Optimist, Stone, Distance, Think It Over, Mammoth, You’re to Blame, Take a Bow, Another Celebration at the End of the World, Don’t Back Down
Legendary west coast jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington has announced a new album – Fearless Movement – along with a tour that kicks off on May 4 at the Beacon Theatre.
Along with the tour announcement, Washington has released the first track from Fearless Movement, “Prologue,” alongside a mesmerizing video directed by longtime collaborator AG Rojas and choreographed by Samantha Blake Goodman.
Kamasi Washington is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and bandleader born and raised in Los Angeles, who has released three albums, all acclaimed – The Epic; Harmony of Difference, and Heaven and Earth. In 2020, Washington scored the Michelle Obama documentary Becoming, earning Emmy and GRAMMY nominations for his work.
Washington views Fearless Movement his dance album: “It’s not literal. Dance is movement and expression, and in a way it’s the same thing as music—expressing your spirit through your body. That’s what this album is pushing.”
With his previous albums dealing with cosmic ideas and existential concepts, Fearless Movement focuses on the everyday, an exploration of life on earth. This change in scope is due in large part to the birth of Washington’s first child a few years ago. A dance album as an embodied form of expression signals a shift in focus for Washington.
“Being a father means the horizon of your life all of a sudden shows up. My mortality became more apparent to me, but also my immortality—realizing that my daughter is going to live on and see things that I’m never going to see. I had to become comfortable with this, and that affected the music that I was making.”
Kamasi Washington, on Fearless Movement
The album also features Washington’s daughter, who wrote the melody to “Asha The First” during some of her first experimentations on the piano, as well as a host of collaborators. Among them, André 3000 appears on flute, George Clinton lends his voice, as do BJ The Chicago Kid, Inglewood rapper D-Smoke and Taj and Ras Austin of Coast Contra, the twin sons of West Coast legend Ras Kass. Washington has also enlisted lifelong friends and collaborators Thundercat, Terrace Martin, Patrice Quinn, Brandon Coleman, DJ Battlecat and more.
Fearless Movement also features “The Garden Path,” a song Washington performed for the first time ever, making his late-night television debut, on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
Washington has announced an extensive North American tour kicking off May 4 at Manhattan’s Beacon Theatre with dates in Chicago, Houston, San Francisco and the Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival, which he will co-curate with Herbie Hancock for the second year in a row, on June 16.
Pre-order/Pre-save Fearless Movementhere. Tickets for Kamasi Washington at the Beacon Theatre, and all shows, are on sale March 8 at 10am, here.
Funky west coast powerhouse Circles Around the Sun (CATS) are bringing their magic to the East Coast and more, along with Mikaela Davis and Southern Star. The group stopped in at the legendary Stone Pony in Asbury Park on February 29, quickly becoming the best thing to have happened on a this leap day.
The night started off with Mikaela Davis and Southern Star which was incredibly ambient, funky, and unique. The harp mixed in with intricate guitar and ultimately a saxophone provided a very unique sound. Their set included a nod to the good ol’ Grateful Dead with a “Here Comes Sunshine” cover.
Seeing CATS with Mikaela Davis sitting in at Peach Festival in July 2023, I knew we were in for a quite a treat. There’s something mesmerizing and attention demanding about the harp. It may be how difficult it looks to play, or how rarely a typical person may encounter one, especially in a live rock band setting.
Circles Around The Sun played a classic set with old and new song starting off with “Away Team.” Their set included “Money’s No Option” and ended with “Babyman.” Then Mikaela joined them on stage for three songs ending with “Language“, which is the title track of their newest record.
Circles Around the Sun is known well in the jam band community particularly for the tragedy in losing their founding member, the great Neal Casal. CATS is a band who prove to be unique, funky, and ground breaking in the absence of Casal, with guitarist John Lee Shanon fitting in well, unafraid to experiment, getting weird with guitar solos, truly showing off his unique musicianship. The space funk grooves of this band paired with the epic sounding harp playing of Mikaela Davis is truly a force to behold.
Circles Around the Sun – Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ – Thursday, February 29, 2024 – Leap Day
Setlist: Away Team, Landline Memories, Immovable Object, Moneyâs No Option, Halicarnassus, Babyman Encore: After Sunrise*, Gloaming Way*, Language* * with Mikaela Davis
The newly reformed Sublime will headline the eleventh annual Levitate Music & Arts Festival in Marshfield, MA this summer. The festival is scheduled to take place from July 5th through July 7th at the Marshfield Fairgrounds. Joining Sublime at the top of the festival bill is Lake Street Dive, Mt. Joy, Tash Sultana and Dirty Heads, with a wide range of other popular artists filling out the rest of he weekend.
Upon receiving an inside tip that Sublime, the 90s surf-punk icons that defined a generation were rumored to reunite, Levitate organizers moved quickly to arrange that Sublime would take the stage for their first and only live Northeast performance at Levitate Music & Arts Festival. The band features original members Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson with Jakob Nowell, the son of late founding member Bradley Nowell, assuming front man duties. “Playing our music is the closest thing possible to playing with my old buddy Brad,” noted Wilson recently.
In addition to this very special headlining act, the lineup also includes powerhouse female fronted acts Lake Street Dive and Tash Sultana on Saturday, indie rockers Mt. Joy on Friday, and a star studded dynamic lineup ranging from favorites Dirty Heads to hometown heroes The Elovaters. The virtuosic prowess of performers like Grace Bowers and Cory Wong will also be on full display this weekend. And the authentic Americana of Charley Crockett along with rising starts like Karina Rykman only adds to the incredible and diverse talent at this year’s festival.
Photo credit: Jesse Faatz
Along with the world-class musical talent, Levitate will host an eclectic, eco-driven and family friendly event with a blend of artisan vendors, dozens of local food trucks, and wide ranging experiences from live art installations to kids activities including the return of the kids zone run by Levitate Camp Counselors which encourage creativity and a shared love of the outdoors with the next generation – a value at the very core of Levitate’s mission.
Tickets go on sale Thursday, February 15 at 12 PM ET. Visit www.levitatemusicfestival.com for more information. One percent of each ticket sold will be contributed to the Levitate Foundation, a non-profit whose mission is to cultivate vibrant communities by creating and conserving access to music, art and the outdoors.
