(ATO Records, 2010):
Full disclosure: I first fell in love with Danny Barnes‘ music years ago at the long-defunct Pauly’s Hotel when he was tearing up Metallica covers on clawhammer banjo.
That was back when he was leading his neo-old-timey band the Bad Livers (still one of the all-time great band names).
With his brand new album, Barnes is still rooted in the Americana trenches, but he fearlessly mashes up his roots sound with, well, whaddaya got?
Today is Mardi Gras, and officially it ends at midnight tonight.
But, of course, most people just don’t seem to quite understand that. So typically, Mardi Gras celebrations around Nippertown tend to occur after Mardi Gras is already over.
Like the Fat Saturday Carnivale for the Arts, sponsored by the Arts Center of the Capital Region. The third annual celebration takes place from 6:30pm til 12midnight on Saturday at Revolution Hall in Troy.
Comic Erick James will emcee the event. There’s music from Captain Squeeze and the Zydeco Moshers. There’s dancing by Habiba’s Belly Dance Divas. And there’s juggling by the stilt-walking Sean Fagan.
There’s also a silent auction of artwork by local artists and donations from local businesses, a Cajun buffet, face-painting, a fortune teller and lots of all-around merriment.
Tickets are $15 in advance; $20 at the door; $10 for students. All proceeds will benefit the Arts Center of the Capital Region.
David Lowery of Camper Van Beethoven (left) and David Lowery of Cracker (right)
Singer-guitarist-bandleader David Lowery almost did the impossible on Tuesday night at Revolution Hall in Troy. He nearly upstaged himself.
That is to say, in front of a jam-packed and very enthusiastic crowd, opening act Camper Van Beethoven nearly stole the show from headliners Cracker. Almost, but not quite.
Lowery, you see, heads up both bands. And he did a yeoman’s job pulling double duty, as did drummer Frank Funaro.
Frank Zappa died in 1993. But not his music.
An off-shoot of a Zappa birthday celebration in the New Jersey basement of guitarist Andre Cholmondeley, Project/Object has carried on Zappa’s musical legacy. Not only was Project/Object among the very first Zappa tribute bands, but, as Cholmondeley pointed out at Revolution Hall in Troy on Saturday night, they’re the only tribute band “with actual ingredients.”
“Accept no substitutes,” chimed in vocalist-guitarist Ike Willis, himself a decade-long veteran of Zappa’s bands.
There’s been a lot of buzz since we wrote about the upcoming plans for Revolution Hall in Troy yesterday.
And coincidentally, yesterday former Revolution Hall manager Jared Kingsley also publicly announced the formation of JENT Entertainment and Events, a new integrated event planning company.
Kingsley says, “I have travelled the country making connections and networking with some of the best in the business, and now it’s time to work for myself.”
Perhaps not so coincidentally, the first music bookings out of the gate for JENT just happen to be bands that have made multiple appearances at Rev Hall.
Sublime tribute band 40 Oz. to Freedom will be headlining at Red Square in Albany on Thursday, February 4. Odus Budd will open the show.
And Michael Jackson tribute band Who’s Bad? will be moonwalking into Northern Lights in Clifton Park on Saturday, February 6.
Kingsley did a good job during his tenure at Rev Hall, and we here at Nippertown.com certainly wish him well in his new business venture.
” ‘Rubber Soul’ by the Beatles. I was a little kid and had bought several singles – as we called them in the day – by the Beatles and Bob Dylan before that, but once I had heard ‘Norwegian Wood’ and ‘Drive My Car’ on the radio, I knew I needed the whole thing.
I saw the album cover, and I said, ‘Wow, I’m gonna buy this album, and I might need a brown suede jacket, too.’ My dad was military, and so I saved my allowance money for over a month and bought the album at the Air Base Exchange or BX.”
Johnny Hickman and his bandmates in Cracker pull into Revolution Hall in Troy on Tuesday (January 12) in support of their latest album, “Sunrise in the Land of Milk & Honey.” Camper Van Beethoven opens the show.
Every time that we’ve seen them, Frank Zappa tribute band Project/Object has always turned in a excellent performance that once again renewed our deep appreciation for the rich and wonderful music of Zappa.
Led by guitarist-bandleader Andre Cholmondeley, Project/Object rolls into Revolution Hall in Troy on Saturday (January 9) in their return to Nippertown, and you can bet that this show is going to be something extra special, as the band will be joined by not one, but two Zappa alumni.
For the first time in 25 years, Ike Willis and Ray White are touring together, as special guests of Project/Object. These two musicians and vocalists were clearly favorites of Zappa’s, as he recorded and toured with one or both of them from 1976 ’til his final tour in 1988. Together, they created some of the most memorable music of Zappa’s vast catalog, and Project/Object will bring them together one more time.
Vocalist-guitarist Ike Willis was with Zappa for more than a decade, making his debut in the title role of Joe on the quintessential Zappa album, “Joe’s Garage.” He toured with Zappa’s band in 1978 and performed on every Zappa tour thereafter.
Vocalist-guitarist Ray White was originally drafted into Zappa’s band in the fall of 1976. He can be heard on such classic Zappa albums as “Zappa in New York,” “Joe’s Garage,” “Tinsel Town Rebellion,” “You Are What You Is” and more. In more recent years, White has also worked with jam-oriented groups like KVHW and Umphrey’s McGee, and has toured with Dweezil Zappa’s tribute band Zappa Plays Zappa.
Opening for Project/Object at Rev Hall is Nippertown’s own progressive jam band Timbre Coup.
Icy Moons of Jupiter
Having played their debut gig less than two months ago, Icy Moons of Jupiter are a brand new four-piece combo who bring funk, rock and sonic expermentation into their musical mix. Led by guitarist-vocalist Chris Chauvin, the band’s set list stretches from the Grateful Dead to Talking Heads.
Sharing the stage will be funkateer faves Sugar Proof, led by the vocalist-guitarist tandem of Titian Dion and Wayne Chaet.
Deja (Photo by Al Diamante)
Doors open at 8pm.
After three nights of preliminary competition at Tess’ Lark Tavern, Savannah’s and the Bayou Cafe, Q103’s Guitar Wars battle came down to the grand finale at Revolution Hall in Troy on Thursday night.
One of the top eight finalists would walk away with the crown as the Capital Region’s top guitarlinger and a $10,000 Martin guitar.
Or would they?
Apparently one of the finalists George Catanzal wasn’t able to compete on Thursday, so another short round of preliminaries was held first of Thursday night to find one more finalist to add to the mix. Classical guitarist Kevin Prockup emerged as that winner, which sent him straight into the finals, competing against Albie Von Schaaf, Rob Guerin, Chuck Valentine, Dallas Sheppard, Steve White, Mat Kane and Kaitee Page.
The battle lines have been drawn, and now it’s all coming down to one big last showdown, as the final night of Q103’s Guitar Wars competition takes place at Revolution Hall in Troy at 7pm on Thursday (December 10).
Eight of the area’s top musicians will battle it out for bragging rights as Nippertown’s best guitarslinger and top honors in Guitar Wars. The winner will receive the grand prize of a $10,000 limited edition Yuengling/Martin guitar.
The eight finalists are:
Albie Von Schaaf (of the Black Fuel/These Are the Hits)
Rob Guerin
Chuck Valentine (of Road to Galway)
George Catanzal
Dallas Sheppard
Steve White
Mat Kane (of Disposable Rocket Band)
Kaitee Page (of Lunic)
The finalists were selected in earlier rounds of the competition at such Albany music venues as Tess’ Lark Tavern, Savannah’s and the Bayou Cafe.
As you might expect, most of the finalists are playing electric guitars, but Rob Guerin plays dazzlingly on his acoustic guitar, and just to make things really interesting, Mat Kane and Kaitee Page don’t even play guitar.
That’s right, early in the competition, Guitar Wars organizers decided not to limit the contest to guitarists, but to open it up to all stringed instrument players. And that allowed electric mandolinist Mat Kane and electric violinist Kaitee Page to enter the competition and earn a berth in Thursday’s finals. So you can bet that this is going to be an exciting night.
Admission is free, so come on down and show your support.
(Indian Ledge Records, 2009)
We first heard Alta Mira three years ago, when they were sharing the stage with the haunting Lisa Germano at Valentine’s Music Hall. We immediately became fans.
A year later, the young quartet released their debut disc on Indian Ledge Records. The EP “Fables and Fabrications” caught a lot of ears and garnered the band lots of great press.
Now they’re finally unleashing their first full-length album. It’s about time. And it’s worth the wait.
Alta Mira’s sound is difficult to pin down. It’s certainly not any kind of straight-forward rock formula. It’s complex, intoxicating. This is challenging stuff.
Joe Michon-Huneau’s passionate, open-hearted vocals immediately leap to front-and-center, while drummer Tommy Krebs and brothers Hunter and August Sagehorn (on bass and guitar, respectively) mold the songs with intricate, imaginative arrangements like seasoned sonic sculptors. Tempos and moods shift 180-degrees in a heartbeat. And back again. Is it art-rock anchored in funk? It shimmers as much as it shakes. It’s delicate, yet dynamic. It’s purposefully disorienting. There’s genuine drama here.
Take, for example, “The End of My,” which sounds something like Jeff Buckley singing an incredibly contagious Marshall Crenshaw song backed by the Police’s Andy Summer. And that’s followed by the compelling, yet understated instrumental “Interlude.”
The band’s sound has drawn comparisons to such diverse influences as Radiohead, Incubus, the Beatles, Talking Heads, Verve Pipe, XTC, Jerry Cantrell, the Mars Volta, Tool, the Sea and Cake. They’re all right. And all wrong. Alta Mira’s music unfolds at its own pace to reveal its altogether unique inner beauty.
Alta Mira celebrates the release of their self-titled album debut at Revolution Hall in Troy on Saturday (December 5). They’re calling it “The Alta Mira CD Release Experiment,” and the festivities includes art installations, interactive 360-degree video and music by Alta Mira, Railbird, Matthew Loiacono and Matt Durfee. Doors open at 7pm. Admission is $10, which includes a copy of the new CD.
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