So much of music comes from personal experience. The messages artists share are those grown from their own life lessons, victories and failures. But sometimes an album comes along that does more than that and shakes the very foundations for which everything else stands. Jazz trombonist, songwriter and vocalist Melissa Gardiner’s Empowered is that kind of album. Songs and interludes don’t just scrape the surface of conversations about domestic abuse, sexism and the expectations of being a female: They slap them in the face. Gardiner doesn’t tiptoe around anything. She is anxious to dive further into the meanings behind the songs that already are screaming their intentions. “The album…
Author: Jessica Novak
The Binghamton-based band Driftwood got its modest start playing shows at venues like Al’s Wine and Whiskey Lounge in Armory Square. Now the outfit is playing on stages in front of hundreds of fans. From Peach Fest to Grassroots, Driftwood has made big-time strides. Driftwood celebrates the release of their fifth studio album, Tree of Shade, with a show on Sunday, June 23, 5 p.m., at Good Nature Farm Brewery, 1727 Route 12B, Hamilton. Tickets are $15. For information, visit driftwoodtheband.com. The band features Dan Forsyth (guitar, vocals), Joe Kollar (banjo, vocals), Joey Arcuri (bass), Claire Byrne (fiddle, vocals) and Will Sigel (drums). Driftwood sounds like a throwback to the era of all-acoustic instruments and raw…
For 20 years, Mandate of Heaven has been sliding in and out of the local music scene, planting a succession of material that could stand among the musical giants that have influenced bandleader Greg Pier. Now, Mandate is celebrating the release of Least Concern, the band’s latest work since 2012, with a gig at King of Clubs, 406 S. Clinton St., on Saturday, May 18, 9 p.m. Tickets are $10 and available at ticketweb.com. Pier, the main force behind Mandate, is certainly prolific, having released more than a dozen records. Yet he has suffered from what he calls a “severe…
Mike Davis & the Laughing Budda Episodes. Find Yourself -> Caterpillar (independent). There’s so much great music in the world. Creative people find new ways to break down walls of genre and stereotype all the time. And yet, it’s still rare and exciting when music comes around that doesn’t just break a wall, but demolishes it all together. Mike Davis of Norwich has an amazing talent for blowing through walls to create something so incredibly his own that it’s inspiring. Find Yourself -> Caterpillar begins with a lilting introduction, “There is No Dream,” that lulls the listener into thinking this…
Owners of Syracuse’s The Listening Room Café were contacted by Tennessee attorneys, saying the name infringed on a trademark.
Perhaps more than any other band in history, the Grateful Dead wasn’t just about the group members. It was about a culture that extended like a family, spanning to include the people around the band just as much as the musicmakers themselves. The road crew wielded significant influence and were regarded as some of the band’s closest friends and confidants. Roadie Steve Parish became exceptionally close with Jerry Garcia, remaining with him up until the final moments of his life. On Friday, March 22, Parish will visit Fayetteville’s Papa Gallo restaurant, bringing his many tales about the Dead. It will be the first of three area appearances, with other stops in…
The Listening Room Cafe opened at 443 Burnet Ave. in Syracuse’s Hawley-Green neighborhood.
Since he was 15, Christopher Getman dreamed of composing music for the video games that he loved. In 2018 he achieved that goal by creating the soundtrack for the game MazeQuest 2. “I had an itch,” he says. “I wanted to get composing video game music under my belt.” Getting there for Getman wasn’t easy, however. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in music from SUNY Purchase in 2001, then began writing scores for low-budget films in Los Angeles, which mostly consisted of remixing other composers’ work. “The editors would fall in love with a(n outside) track and say, ‘Write something…
Local bands Neglected Foot, Modafferi and Atkins Riot have new tunes for listeners.
For years, Syracuse had a void in the music scene that kept many mid-level artists from coming through. Without a 700-person capacity space, artists and agents either had to choose between bar-sized rooms or major venues like the Landmark Theater — or else they bypassed this market. This situation forced concertgoers like Dan Mastronardi and Sam Levey to visit Ithaca or Rochester for the shows they wanted to see. And they would find themselves surrounded by a hundred other Central New York music fans each time. So in 2008 Mastronardi and Levey teamed up and filled that gap with the opening of the Westcott Theater, 524…
For the 10th anniversary of Westcott Theater, local Grateful Dead tribute band Dark Hollow will take the stage — just like when the venue opened in 2008.
Strange To Look At mixes the ambient, floating sounds of Portishead with a modern Pink Floyd influence to create a “spooky” vibe.
Area bands will celebrate the memory of Nick LaVerne, a local guitarist from the 1990s-era outfit Screaming Meemies and Ithaca band Stone Cold Miracle.
At age 15, Brandon “Taz” Niederauer has already impressed rock royalty. He has played with Gregg Allman, Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, and Stevie Nicks.
The Center for the Arts of Homer has become a hot spot for music lovers. Its upcoming schedule features John Hiatt, the Blind Boys of Alabama and more.