One year after their hit PULSE took dance floors by storm, born-and-bred New York six-piece MICHELLE brings their “lively” (NME) brand of indie pop to the Hunter Center in celebration of MASS MoCA’s newest exhibition, Like Magic, opening October 28. Dance a euphoric future into being through the power of MICHELLE’s “addictive” melodies, as they blend unique perspectives and backgrounds into one cohesive, unforgettable celebration. All ages.
Get the party started early and join us before the show for the member preview & celebration of our newest exhibition, Like Magic. Free for members, open to all.
Not yet a member? Become one here for event discounts, exclusive invites, and more.
Experience the Ultimate Singlecut Shakedown! Mark your calendars for October 21st, from 4 PM to 10 PM, and join us for an extraordinary day festival featuring an incredible lineup of live bands, delectable food options, a wide selection of craft beer, and a diverse array of talented craft vendors.
The Kooks – ‘10 Tracks To Echo In The Dark’ album biog
When you look back at the sea of mid-noughties indie bands, there are few still standing and even fewer, some fifteen years later, who are still experiencing career highs. But this was the precise spot The Kooks found themselves in, four years ago.
After a worldwide arena tour, the release of their 2018 UK Top Ten album ‘Let’s Go Sunshine’ saw the Brighton band topping the bill at festivals across Europe and at home. The streaming boom had opened up The Kooks up to a new audience of young fans who loved their distinctive brand of indie rock and were itching to see them play live.
Coming off the back of a punishing tour schedule, frontman, Luke Pritchard – vowed to take a bit of a breather. But instead, found himself right back in the studio.
“I started going to Berlin for three or four days at a time. I was really affected by Brexit and I wanted to make a bit of a statement by creating a European record,” he explains. “We’re a European band, we practically lived out there and have so much love for Europe, so we wanted to keep that connection.”
Berlin has long been something of a creative Mecca for artists from all over the world and Pritchard found himself moving in those circles, meeting the collaborators he would work with on their behemoth of a sixth album, ‘10 Tracks To Echo In The Dark’. The period was one of work, inspiration and creativity as opposed to partying. “I wasn’t doing any drugs,” Pritchard attests. “It was more dive bars and a bottle of whiskey than Berghain.”
The environment quickly started to work its magic. “A lot of songwriters have found refuge in Berlin”, he says. “It’s a free place, it’s not so consumed by commerciality. I was looking for something a bit rawer, a little bit more minimal. Sometimes you just pick up these nuances somewhere. It’s not necessarily the people, it’s the place.”
Armed with a new mantra – to not overthink things and just make a record that he’d want to listen to at home, the ideas came freely and easily. Pairing up with Tobias Kuhn to co-write and produce the bulk of the record, their first writing session saw them pen intention-setting lead single, ‘Connection’, in just a few hours. Things were moving well with the pair laying down five tracks, but in March 2020, COVID put a stop to Pritchard’s European dream, forcing him to return home to the UK to finish the writing sessions over Zoom until Tobias was able to fly out to London and record with him and the rest of the band, Hugh Harris (lead guitar/synthesiser/bass) and Alexis Nunez (drums).
Despite the dual locations, there’s a distinct Berlin sensibility to ‘10 Tracks To Echo In The Dark’. Flirting with genres from 80s synth-pop to funk to prog rock, the album is still, at its core, an indie record and a Kooks one, at that.
It’s a record that doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel but takes that classic Kooks sound and adds something of a retro-futurist slant – both sonically and in mindset. It’s an album about being hopeful and seeing the great in the world, despite the darkness. There are unapologetic love songs (‘Without A Doubt’, ‘Oasis’), tracks about partying through pain (‘Connection’), terrible exes (‘Cold Heart’) and even a song for Pritchard’s newborn son, Julian. (‘Beautiful World’), born prematurely while the band were on tour in Mexico.
Getting married and becoming a father you get a sense that we’re hearing from a new Pritchard – one whose demons are behind him and is optimistic about the future.
“I really hope that sense of inner peace comes across,” says Pritchard of the album’s resoundingly optimistic outlook. “I really want to have fun with my life at this point. But also – it’s kinda a reflection of what I was feeling in real-time in a pre-and-post COVID world. I was reading a lot of sci-fi – like Philip K. Dick, Azimov and surreal stuff like Boris Vian – which is obviously really distracting from what’s going on in the world, but helped me be imaginative with the songs.”
It’s a relief to hear a healthier perspective from a band who have had their struggles played out in the press for fifteen years. Bagging a slew of top 20 hits in their teens (‘Naive’, ‘She Moves In Her Own Way’) with 2006 quadruple-platinum debut album ‘Inside In/Inside Out’, the young band didn’t always know how to handle everything that came along with superstardom.
“Mental health has been a big focus of our band for quite a while now. Because we’ve all struggled in our own ways. That’s not to say we haven’t had amazing lives, but just we struggled with fame big time, like really struggled. And we got it wrong a lot of the time.
“We did get famous quite quickly and we didn’t have a lot of the stability required to not let that seriously affect you. All of us, in our own ways, have made some very poor judgements and some really good judgements. And we’re here, so it means we’ve done very well to keep it going and to keep ourselves sane. But I have ultimate compassion for anyone who gets famous anywhere.”
But as with everyone, there comes a point in life where you reach a sense of stillness, you become more comfortable in your own skin and the right path becomes clear to you. The band have been experimental over the years – most notably on 2014’s Inflo-produced jazz-funk album ‘Listen’ – something that has been key to their longevity, but getting back to what people love about The Kooks was front of Pritchard’s mind: whether that person was “a fifteen-year-old kid in South Africa or someone who was at our first concert.”
The result isn’t a rinse and repeat of their earlier sound, though. Instead, we get those infectious Kooks melodies and riffs, but over synths and electronic beats. There’s even some saxophone in there, moving their trademark sound well into 2022.
“Indie is a word we were running from for quite a long time,” he admits. “The band’s done a lot of different records, but we do have quite a style. A big part of it was not running from anything. We’re gonna just do what we do, but better and with a few more fresh ideas.”
In the studio, he made some rules: not to overcomplicate things, throw in some old-school Kooks riffs, “the very classic, Naive-y kinda stuff, but with more minimalism” and to get back to that noughties thing of treated vocals. “It’s not that I hate my voice – I just mainly dislike it. So the more you can disguise it, the better!”
Having that focus helped make a cohesive record that leans on the band’s legacy while still sounding fresh. “On certain albums you make decisions based on other things and you start
trying to chase your own tail. This record isn’t about trying to smash everything up and reinvent. COVID hitting in the middle of recording was a good time to kind of really reflect on all our albums and be really happy with our journey.”
As The Kooks, continue to reach an ever-growing audience of young fans, ‘10 Tracks To Echo In The Dark’ feels like a mission statement. It’s a celebration of getting through troubled times and a rallying cry for our future.
This is a band whose career highs are still to come. They’re right to feel optimistic about what’s next and that the future might be a little bit brighter.
And the key to seeing fifteen years of success as a band?
Hailing from the vibrant music scene of Denver, Colorado, Steely Dead is a national touring band that has satisfied the curiosity of music lovers with their unique blend of Grateful Dead and Steely Dan. Comprised of four exceptionally talented musicians – Dave Abear on guitar, Matt Abear on bass, Chris Sheldon on drums, and Dylan Teifer on keys – Steely Dead has gained a dedicated following with their electrifying performances and soulful interpretations of classic tunes.
Steely Dead’s repertoire is a carefully crafted fusion of Grateful Dead and Steely Dan songs, between the arrangement and precision studio recordings of rock legends Steely Dan, cross-pollinated with the Grateful Dead’s free-flowing, melodic improvisation and masterful song segues. Steely Dead merges these major concepts together infusing the influence into each band, all the while creating an original jam element with the song segues. Steely Dead’s performances are a musical journey that takes audiences on a nostalgic trip through the golden era of rock and roll.
As a national touring band, Steely Dead has built a loyal fan base that eagerly anticipates their shows and follows them from city to city. Their performances are not just concerts, but communal gatherings where fans come together to celebrate the music they love, dance, and create lasting memories.
Steely Dead’s performances are a testament to the power of live music, bringing people together and creating an unforgettable experience that resonates long after the last note fades.
Steely Dead is not just a band; it’s a musical experience that captures the hearts and souls of music lovers everywhere
We Are Grateful For Our Sponsors and Partners For Their Support of the Arts in Our Community.
The Ramona Flowers are going to swing by Indian Ladder Farms
for a free, stripped-down performance in the Pizza Garden
on Friday, October 20th at 7pm.
No ticket needed
Free show
Melvin Seals has been a powerful presence in the music industry for over 30 years with a long-established reputation as a performer, recording artist and producer. Melvin is most revered for his powerful, high-spirited, Hammond B-3 organ, and keyboards in the Jerry Garcia Band. Melvin spun his B-3 magic with the Jerry Garcia Band for 18 years and in doing so helped pioneer and define what has now become “Jam Band Music”. From blues to funk to rock to jazz, Melvin Seals serves up a tasty mix with a little R&B and gospel thrown in to spice things up. Melvin and JGB bring an intuitive, expressive style, soul, spontaneity and remarkable chops to the table.
John Kadlecik on lead guitar and vocal duties, John-Paul McLean’s savory bass, Jeremy Hoenig on the drums and, of course, a heapin’ helpin’ of the wizard’s magic on Hammond B-3 Organ and keyboards. Their chemistry is the focus from which they create a spontaneous and high art where the sky is the limit musically. They offer an exciting, often psychedelic musical journey that changes nightly and keeps the audience dancing and smiling (and some staring in amazement) for hours. Adding his rock-gospel-soul-rhythm and blues touch with his funky style of playing, no wonder Jerry nicknamed him “Master of the Universe”.
Melvin continues to treat music lovers to his unique brand of melodic flavor with JGB. Come see and hear for yourself!
MELVIN SEALS & JGB: Melvin Seals – Hammond B3 Organ, Keyboards & Vocals John Kadlecik – Electric Guitar & Lead Vocals John-Paul McLean – Bass & Vocals Jeremy Hoenig – Drums
Come one, come all to Indian Ladder Farms this Saturday at noon for a free, stripped down performance from Barns Courtney – and get your tickets now to see his full concert Saturday night at Empire Live at WEQX.COM
He’ll be performing 4-5 songs in the Tasting Room which is located in the barn…yes, Barns is playing the barn!
EQX-Posure Live is a music series collaboration between Village Garage Distillery & EQX to bring the local artists to Bennington!
EQX-Posure introduces you to the band down the block, the one playing in the bar across town, the ones you maybe didn’t know were right under your nose, but you most definitely should be aware of. Listen on 102.7 Sundays from 7pm-9pm
Saturday October 28th it’s a free show with Ciarra Fragale from 7-9pm!
EQX-Posure Live is a music series collaboration between Village Garage Distillery & EQX to bring the local artists to Bennington!
EQX-Posure introduces you to the band down the block, the one playing in the bar across town, the ones you maybe didn’t know were right under your nose, but you most definitely should be aware of. Listen on 102.7 Sundays from 7pm-9pm
Saturday, March 23rd from 7-9pm it’s Wes Aldrich performing for free!
An afternoon of music, food trucks, farm animals, autumn in Vermont, and good vibes. Catch The Mallet Brothers Band, Saints & Liars, Mary-Elaine Jenkins, and J.D. & Six Feet Deep at Taylor Farm in Londonderry, Vermont on Saturday, October 7th.
Brian Fallon’s rockstar days are firmly behind him. And no one is more accepting of that fact than Brian Fallon.
Having recently turned 40, the New Jersey legend has left more than his youth in his rearview. His former outfit, The Gaslight Anthem, reunited for a string of reunion shows in 2018 but now only exists in that murky grey area known as “indefinite hiatus.” He released two well-received solo albums in the past four years, 2016’s Painkillers and 2018’s Sleepwalkers, but even those records dwell more in the rock genre than anywhere else.
Now, with his new solo album, Local Honey, and a partnership for his own label with the venerated, artist-friendly outpost Thirty Tigers (Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell), Fallon has made the record he has always wanted to make and has put himself in a place to release it exactly as he pleases. Its acoustic-leaning, introspective, singer-songwriter artistry is a benchmark of a time and place, a heartfelt and grown-up sound that has been in his mind and in his heart for a long while. Unique amongst his output, Local Honey is a snapshot of Fallon’s current existence and a masterstroke from an artist whose songwriting talent is boiling over.
“I just want to tell stories and write songs that mean something to me. And if you’re aging the same way I am then hopefully they mean something to you, too.”
“I want people to see where I am now,” Fallon says. “I’m 40, I’ve got two kids, a wife, a house—that’s who I am. I’m not really trying to do any thing, I’m trying to step away from that. I just want to tell stories and write songs that mean something to me. And if you’re aging the same way I am then hopefully they mean something to you, too.”
Following the release of Sleepwalkers, Fallon spent the next year-plus demoing a series of stripped-back songs inspired by the simplicity and struggles of his day-to-day life. With a goal to write as truthfully as possible, he experienced a more difficult road than he had faced ever before in his career. Only when he tapped into the intimate feeling of connection he shares with a live audience was he able to reach his desired levels, and the resulting songs mirror that profound, earned intimacy.
“Being truthful in songs is so hard because you have so many insecurities that you want to cover up,” he says. “There are so many layers of self-manipulation, especially when you know you’re going to be examined. The only way I could find to deal was to place myself onstage, looking at an audience, and ask myself, OK, what are you gonna say? I know my audience and I trust them, and I think they trust me to deliver whatever this thing is that we share, and there’s a definite back-and-forth that happens. We’re comforted by each other. So I would close my eyes and see myself onstage and ask what I wanted to play next, and that’s how I wrote the album.”
Armed with the batch of his most introspective songs to date, Fallon sought to avoid an attempt to make “the classic Americana solo album” as so many other frontmen-turned-solo-artists before him have tried. Instead, he partnered with the producer Peter Katis (The National, Interpol, The War on Drugs) in an effort to challenge himself in a variety of new ways and to expand the songs’ sonic horizons. Together, the duo pushed the material to places Fallon would not have attempted on his own, pulling back when necessary but collaborating like a true production partnership. Katis injected the music with an overarching sense of “sadness” that lingers over the work like a blanket, a concept to which Fallon has always been drawn. “That was Peter’s bar—if it made you feel sad, then it was good. I totally relate to that; it’s what I love about all the music I like, in mood more than theme. I subscribed to that right away.”
While the eight songs on Local Honey are some of the most simple and direct of Fallon’s career, it would be a mistake to place them all in the same sonic box. While acoustic guitar and piano are the anchors around which the other tracks come and go, the only other constant remains the unmistakable rasp of Fallon’s voice. That refusal to be pinned down into “country” or “Americana” or even “folk” is apparent from the first listen, and distinct elements of multiple eras and styles drift in and out across the record. Fallon made a concerted effort to improve his own playing, and that care is illustrated in more ways than one. “For this record I put a real effort into being a good player and a good musician,” he says. “I tried to put together the best musicians, I took piano and guitar lessons and practiced to try to get to the level that’s worthy of where I’m trying to go with this. That’s being a grown-up, I guess. My family is the most important thing to me on the earth, but I really care more about my art and what I’m saying than financial success.”
The resulting record is warm and inviting while infused with a sense of space, and designed to be listened to in depth but not to dominate your day. Taking the album title from the signs advertising its namesake Fallon would drive past in the rural farmland near his home, he chose to invoke that same sense of familiar, grounding comfort with the tunes. Beginning with the line “In this life there will be trouble/but you shall overcome” on “When You’re Ready,” the optimistic and earnest tone is established while an enveloping sense of trust is established at once. Fallon says the song came to him in an instant, as he was simply making an effort to tell the truth rather than chasing anything more grand or exotic. The vulnerable tone continues with “21 Days,” a song about addiction and transformation that captures Fallon at his most sympathetic and powerful. Written in pieces, almost as a journaling technique, as Fallon fought to quit smoking cigarettes, the song grew from a placeholder for his thoughts into a full-on blockbuster that displays his songwriting chops.
“Now what? What’s my big statement? Turns out my big statement wasn’t very big at all, it was just: This is my life. This is what I do.”
Elsewhere, “I Don’t Mind (If I’m With You)” is a dreamy ballad about finding peace in love during difficult times of rejection and misunderstanding, “Horses” is a tender piece about how freedom and healing can be found through searching and the deepening of a relationship, and “Hard Feelings” is Fallon’s take on a classic wounded-love story in the style of Mark Knopfler covering Tom Petty. Local Honey ends with “You Have Stolen My Heart,” Fallon’s self-styled first direct attempt at a pure love song, with a calypso rhythm and lyrics inspired by The Smiths’s “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want.” The process of distilling his emotions down to a highly concentrated drip was harrowing, but a journey that Fallon describes as inspiring. “I was sort of chicken to try a pure love song. I’d always have to make it poetic, tragic, or clever. But I think that Smiths song is one of the best songs ever written, and there’s nothing to it—he’s just saying, Come on, let me get this one time. I thought it would be great to write a song just about how you feel. That’s what everyone tells you to do—Sit down and write what you feel!—but it’s so much harder than that. I was peeling away what it was trying to be for my own protection. You always try to protect yourself from criticism when you’re writing; you’ll have this great idea for a song and then you’ll ruin it by trying to cover up what it really was.”
With Local Honey, Fallon has made a grand statement and is prepared to make yet another artistic leap, a form of destiny that remains fully under his own control and vision. Having finally navigated the turbulence of life-after-successful-rock-band, he is settling into his own as an artist and has learned that the best path for him is to simply go it alone on all levels.
“It’s been such a whirlwind of starting over and figuring out how to do this as a solo act,” he says. “The main thing an artist wants is to be defined as something they can live with. After all this searching—major labels, indies, the band, everything that I’ve been through—the one thing I’ve learned is that you have to define yourself. And so I decided I’m just gonna do this thing myself, and partner with someone who can help me get it out to the world. Once I had all that control, I said, Now what? What’s my big statement? Turns out my big statement wasn’t very big at all, it was just: This is my life. This is what I do.
“I think this record is about the process of growing up. I had spent so much time looking backwards and commenting on that life; a lot of older songs were written with rearview mirror commentary. And now that’s just become part of me, it’s made me who I am and now I’m commenting on the current. Every single song here is about right now; this record is 100 percent about the day-to-day. It’s not about these glorious dreams or miserable failures, it’s just about life and how I see it. And I have to think that if this is my life, this is probably a lot of other people’s lives, too.”
This event will be a phone-free experience. Use of cellphones, smart watches, smart accessories, cameras, or recording devices will not be permitted in the performance space. Upon arrival at the venue, all phones, smart watches, and accessories will be secured in Yondr pouches that will be opened at the end of the event. Guests maintain possession of their phones at all times, and can access their phones throughout the event at designated Phone Use Areas in the venue. All phones will be re-secured in Yondr pouches before returning to the event space.
Anyone seen using a phone during the performance will be escorted out of the venue. Guests are encouraged to bring a credit card for purchases inside the venue. We appreciate your cooperation in creating a phone-free viewing experience.
Entry requirements are subject to change. By purchasing tickets to this event you agree to abide by entry requirements in effect at the time of the event. Check leading up to the event for the latest protocols.
Live Nation refund policy: Up to three days after purchase.
John Mulaney is a two-time Emmy and WGA award-winning writer, actor, and comedian.
Mulaney can be seen in his latest Netflix stand up special, BABY J. Released in April 2023, Mulaney converts his personal turmoil into comedic brilliance, which earned him 2023 Emmy nominations in Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) and Outstanding Writing For A Variety Special. On tour, he has sold out massive venues around North America from Madison Square Garden multiple times to the Hollywood Bowl. His 2023 tour dates have included shows across US, Europe and Australia.
In 2018, John Mulaney traveled the United States with sold out Kid Gorgeous tour, which was later released as a Netflix stand-up special and won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Variety Special; In 2015, he released The Comeback Kid, also a Netflix original, which The AV Club called the “best hour of his career;” In 2012, his Comedy Central special New In Town had Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly hailing him as “one of the best stand-up comics alive.”
John Mulaney has been invited to host Saturday Night Live five times. He began writing for SNL in 2008 and created memorable characters such as ‘Stefon’ with Bill Hader and appeared as a “Weekend Update” correspondent. He has written for IFC’s Documentary Now! and Netflix’s Big Mouth, on which he voices the character of Andrew. In December 2019, the critically acclaimed and Emmy nominated musical variety special John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch debuted on Netflix.
He’s also starred on Broadway in the runaway hit written and performed alongside Nick Kroll in Oh, Hello On Broadway. The duo have since release a Netflix special of the same name, as well as Oh, Hello: The P’dcast, based off their characters Gil Faizon and George St. Geegland.
WAMC’s LIVE AT THE LINDA LIVE hosted by Peter Hughes broadcasts live on WAMC – Northeast Public Radio from our performing arts studio – “The Linda.” You can be in the live studio audience for the outstanding show we’re calling “October Feels with special guests The Sea The Sea and Diana Jones.
The Sea The Sea, Chuck E. Costa and Mira Costa, is an Upstate New York based indie folk-pop duo featuring what Bob Boilen (NPR’s All Songs Considered) calls “excellent harmonies” & Huffington Post calls, “Two of the loveliest male-female voices you might ever hear this or any other year.”
Diana Jones
“Songs come in a flurry of inspiration. I don’t understand it but I’m grateful.” Award-winning American singer-songwriter Diana Jones has been called the “Emily Dickinson of song” and “the female Johnny Cash” in reviews and rightfully so. But a journey of adoption and reunion as mysterious as her songwriting led to the gritty, authentic, Americana storytelling that has become her life’s work and the essence of her live show.
Adopted as an infant and raised in Long Island, NY, the fact that Jones couldn’t get enough of her brother’s Johnny Cash records finally made sense when she found her birth family and musical roots in the Smoky Mountains of Eastern Tennessee. “Live At Folsom Prison blew my mind,” Jones recalls. “Whenever I heard anyone country…. like Johnny Cash or Dolly Parton, I wanted more but I just didn’t know where to find it.” Diana’s maternal grandfather, who had formed his first teenage band with a young Chet Atkins, was happy to pass on the culture and music that he loved to his granddaughter. Gradually Jones discovered an uncanny affinity for the Appalachian music of her ancestors and began claiming it as her own as she discovered her true artistic calling.
Blood , Sweat & Tears founding member Steve Katz plays The Linda in Albany.
Guitarist/singer/songwriter/storyteller Steve Katz has played on an enviable string of recordings during the 1960s and ’70s in acoustic folk, jazz, blues, R&B, hard rock, and almost every other popular genre that’s come along in America since the start of the 1960s.
Katz was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1945 and grew up in the upstate city of Schenectady. Already a gifted musician in his early teens, he was good enough to get hired for a local television program called Teenage Barn, doing his versions of pop hits of the late ’50s.
As he got older, Steve was drawn to folk music and blues. He studied traditional American guitar styles with Dave Van Ronk and the Rev. Gary Davis. Eventually, he became part of a circle of similarly minded folk and blues enthusiasts who formed the Even Dozen Jug Band, which also included John Sebastian, Maria Muldaur, David Grisman, and Stefan Grossman.
After moving to Greenwich Village, Steve Katz became an established part of the Village music scene, eventually joining The Blues Project, New York City’s first major home-grown contribution to bluesrock. The Blues Project had an impact on music that far exceeded their relatively modest record sales. Katz was part of the Blues Project lineup that played the Monterey Pop Festival.
Later that same year, with Blues Project bandmate, Al Kooper, Katz founded the original Blood Sweat & Tears. He recorded five albums with the band. Throughout the end of the 1960s and early 70s, Katz performed at countless historic venues including the Fillmore East, and several major rock festivals including Woodstock. Among a host of other awards, the band won three Grammies, including one for Album of the Year. Steve’s influence on BS&T resulted in several chart topping hits and millions of record sales worldwide.
Steve left BS&T to pursue the craft of record production. One of his first productions was the Lou Reed classic, Rock’nRoll Animal. He went on to work with Reed on two more albums before returning to his musician roots in the country-rock band, American Flyer, whose first album was produced by the Beatles’ George Martin.
Steve Katz has been performing and doing book talks all across the country to rave reviews and rapt audiences. He will take you back to a time we all remember and to the music we all grew up with. Spend a memorable evening with Steve Katz – one you will never forget.
Actually, we’re just a bunch of professional musicians with pretty diverse backgrounds who decided to take on a pretty big challenge and have some fun in the process.
Now, you might ask, “Oh yeah? ‘Professional’ musicians, eh? What makes you think you can play Frank’s music as well as [insert Zappa family member here]?”
Well…you might not have heard of us individually, but you have heard of the people we’ve spent our careers working with (and we don’t mean “I played a 10am slot at a festival once that was headlined by Famous Artist X”):
Yo Yo Ma, Mick Fleetwood, BB King, REM, Vinnie Colaiuta, Oasis, LA Philharmonic, Madison Symphony, Arthur Barrow, Munich Philharmonic, Bryan Beller, India Arie, Popa Chubby, Limelight: A Tribute To Rush, Pinetop Perkins, Chicago Lyric Opera, Arrested Development, Madison Opera, blah blah blah….you get the idea.
When it came to the music, Frank was constantly changing things, and he allowed his band members to bring their unique voices to the table. He also understood that his live performances were entertainment: it’s supposed to be a rock show, not a piano recital.
With that in mind, we don’t think playing Song X from Album Y note-for-note while staring at our shoes is the proper way to go about this.
The result of that approach (combined with a lot of homework) is a show that pays respect to Zappa’s legacy, but is also new and different and dangerous and FUN, with lots of eyebrows.
“If you like your bluegrass served with a little punch, attitude, grit and gravy, with that busking spirit that was so present and palpable in the early incarnations of Old Crow Medicine Show and made your realize that string band music could be so much more than fuddy-duddy reenactments by crusty ol’ relics, then the Damn Tall Buildings will slide in nice as a welcome addition to your listening rotation. Bluegrass at heart, but pulling from a wide range of influences including swing, ragtime, jazz, and even a hint of contemporary perspective in the songwriting, they offer virtually unmatched energy and enthusiasm, underpinned by intelligent songs that don’t skimp on the infectiousness…”
RAEL – The Music of Genesis is a New York and Northern New Jersey-based tribute band that recaptures the energy and originality of the “early years” live stage performances by Genesis. Catch them live at The Strand Theatre in Hudson Falls on Saturday, September 30th.
