Cover Story
Five local guitar makers discuss their craft
It would seem that even a well-made guitar has no soul; it is merely wood and wire. But in music’s endless pursuit to get what is in the musician’s heart into the listener’s ear, the guitar is an important vessel, or at the very least a bridge in this quest. It’s true that the instrument…
East High is not alone, says Commissioner King
Other Rochester schools face intervention by the state, says education commissioner during local stop.
STAMP’s location problem
Buildings could start going up at the Western New York Science, Technology, and Advanced Manufacturing Park in rural Genesee County within a year. But not everyone is thrilled about the park’s location. The 1,250-acre complex will be located in the Town of Alabama, northwest of Batavia, in an area blanketed with farms and protected wild…
Gates supervisor wants casino at tech park
Some Gates residents seem open to the idea of having a casino in their town. During last night’s Town Board meeting, five people spoke about a Seneca casino in Gates, but only a couple of them offered any direct opposition. The others had questions about traffic, jobs, benefits to the town, and the process the…
Rochester Lilac Festival announces changes including fencing, checkpoints
In order to make a more secure and better defined festival area, Monroe County Parks will install a fence around this year’s Rochester Lilac Festival, organizers announced Monday morning. The green, plastic mesh fencing will be installed around the event’s entertainment area in Highland Park for the duration of the festival, which will run May…
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 6, Episodes 7 & 8: Rupersize Me
It’s a testament to this show that Monday night’s two-hour extravaganza flew by with a quickness. (It would have been three hours, but the bar where I was watching decided it was more important to blare Pink’s “Raise Your Glass” than it was to turn up the volume for “Untucked,” so I’ll have to catch…
A different side of the casino argument: the effect on tribes
Most of the talk about the Rochester area potentially getting a casino has centered on the effects, positive and otherwise, that such an establishment might have on the region’s economy, on the social fabric, on addiction, on tourism, and the rest of it. Very little has been said about the potential effects on the Seneca…
WEEK AHEAD: State of the County; anti-casino advocacy; East’s future; city waterfront plans
County Executive Maggie Brooks will deliver her annual State of the County address at 7 p.m. Wednesday, at the National Museum of Play, 1 Manhattan Square. Brooks typically uses the speech to draw attention to local businesses, to highlight county economic development programs, and to announce new initiatives. The speech will be broadcast on Time…
Theater Review: “Closer Than Ever” by Everyone’s Theatre Company
If you’re not a musical-theater fanatic, you’ve probably never heard of Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire. But if you enjoy theater songs, or just about any kind of songs, you definitely need to make their acquaintance. Everyone’s Theatre Company is providing a very entertaining survey of this team’s stellar work in the revue “Closer…
Film Review: “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
As all students of the form know, World War II contributed enormously to the success of the comic books that flourished in the America of the past. Characters like Blackhawk and his international squadron, the Boy Commandos, and Wonder Woman often faced various threats from the Axis Powers; some critics have even suggested that Superman…
“Game of Thrones” Season 4, Episode 1: “Two Swords”
As the show gets further into the source material, and as the books continue to be released at George R. R. Martin’s glacial pace, the producers’ approach to adaptation is going to get interesting. We saw more evidence of that with the fourth season premiere, in which I would guess at least one-third of the…
Vargas calls for culture change in city schools
The State Education Department’s intervention at East High School is grabbing all the headlines, but Rochester schools Superintendent Bolgen Vargas says turning around that failing school is not his biggest challenge (a reform plan is due by the end of the month). Changing the district’s inflexible culture is the boulder in the road to success, he…
Dems announce candidate for State Assembly seat
Gary Pudup to run for seat previously held by Bill Reilich.
Local colleges moving forward on START-UP NY plans
Three local colleges could soon be active in START-UP NY, a state program that provides substantial tax breaks for businesses while linking them with public and private higher education institutions. Schools that want to participate have to develop a plan and submit it to state officials. The plans are supposed to identify the type of…
Vargas looking for partner for East High School
This is a corrected version of this blog April 15, 2014 at 8:45 a.m. Rochester schools Superintendent Bolgen Vargas is looking for a partner to run East High School. Working with an educational partner organization is one of the options the State Education Department gave the school district to rehabilitate the failing high school. The…
RECREATION | Rochester River Run/Walk
For the 13th year, the Friends of Strong volunteer organization will host the Rochester River Run/Walk 5K to raise awareness for organ-transplant patients and their families at Strong Memorial Hospital Transplant Units. The organization raised $16,000 at last year’s race, providing aid to 104 patients. The run will take place on Sunday, April 6, 10…
COMEDY | Taxman and Robbin’ vs The April Fool
These past few months of non-stop cold and snow have been enough to give anyone the blues. How can you get over the doldrums of the season? Polite Ink, an improv comedy group based in Rochester, might have the answer. On Saturday, April 5, Polite Ink will present an all-new performance, “Taxman and Robbin’ vs.…
KIDS | “My Son Pinocchio”
“The Adventures of Pinocchio,” the tale of a puppet that wanted to be a real boy, has emerged as one of the most iconic works of children’s literature, having been translated into more than 240 languages. The original was written by Carlo Collodi in 1883, but is most known from Disney’s animated adaptation in 1940.…
ROCK | Heart
Sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson — the core of the band Heart — have been heralded as two of the most legendary female performers in rock history. But that’s only partially accurate. The fact is, the Wilsons are two of the most legendary performers in rock history regardless of their gender. Heart first broke out…
DANCE | FuturPointe Dance
FuturPointe Dance fuses Caribbean and African movements with ballet, creating a unique type of “reggae ballet.” The racially diverse, creatively inspiring Rochester-based dance company will perform a piece inspired by the July 1964 race riots in Rochester on Thursday, April 3, 7 p.m. in the Cleary Family Auditorium (in the Kearney Building) at St. John…
ALT-ROCK | X Ambassadors
X Ambassadors hails from Ithaca, but this regional band is on the brink of breaking big. The group has already been touring with major acts like Imagine Dragons, Jimmy Eat World, and Panic At the Disco. It’s also featured on “Comfortable,” a great, slinky track off DJ group The Knocks’ latest release (a personal favorite…
Explore the Neighborhood of the Arts
Here’s a chance for all of you closet super sleuths to activate your inner Sherlock while nabbing some prizes, too. On Friday, May 2, the business association of the Neighborhood of the Arts will launch a summer-long scavenger hunt called Explore NOTA. QR codes, which are similar to bar codes, will be displayed in participating…
ROCK | Wayland
If there is ever going to be a serious revival of blue-collar hard rock, you can look to bands like Wayland — bands that turn the volume way up and let the good times roll. The Grand Rapids, Michigan-based act pays homage to performers including Bob Seger with its whiskey-driven barroom blitz. I wouldn’t call…
East’s end?
When a school is failing as badly as East High, the surrounding community seems to go through many of the same emotional transitions as a person dealing with a life-threatening illness. Many of those raw emotions were evident at a meeting at East last week, where about 100 students, parents, staff, and residents reacted to…
JAZZ | Lou Donaldson Quartet
You don’t have to own any classic Blue Note albums from the 1960’s to know that the name Lou Donaldson is synonymous with soul-jazz. Donaldson, a saxophone master, is a member of the greatest generation of jazz players. He worked with Art Blakey before Blakey even started the Jazz Messengers, and played alongside greats like…
Urban Action 4/2
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.) Education talk Interfaith Impact of New York’s Rochester chapter will present the discussion, “The Public in Public Education,” at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 6. Poverty, funding inequities, and strategies for improvement will…
POP | Lily Virginia
New York-based artist Lily Virginia names her genre of music as being “her own brand of alternative folk-pop.” She draws influences from fellow folk and pop artists such as Bon Iver, Fleetwood Mac, and Florence + The Machine, embracing the vulnerability and confessional nature of their music. Virginia’s music is raw and honest, brought to…
Good news and cynicism
Several friends have been on my case about focusing on Rochester’s problems so often. Can’t I, they ask, write about some of the good things that are happening here? And certainly there are plenty of good things to write about. Last month, at the Rochester Downtown Development Corporation’s “Changing Fortunes” program, a panel of business…
SINGER-SONGWRITER | Alejandro Escovedo
Unless you’re really into the indie scene or are a fan of “Veronica Mars,” musician Alejandro Escovedo has probably dodged your ears to this point. He’s been around for more than 20 years, putting out songs that range from rock to Americana (listen to “Castanets” and “Gravity, Falling Down Again” to hear said range). When…
DINING REVIEW: Roam Café
Following a diet is, in general, difficult. The science regarding what we “should” eat is confusing. Remember when eggs were bad for us? Or when carbs were a good thing? A recent study suggested that saturated fats, named as a risk factor for heart disease for more than 20 years, might actually be benign. Still,…
DJ/ELECTRONIC | Downlink and Dieselboy
Get your glowsticks and fist pumps ready, because a serious EDM duo is coming to the ROC. That duo is Downlink and Dieselboy. Downlink is known as one of the best bass DJs around these days, not only for his live sets, but also for his work as a producer. Dieselboy is just as big…
CLASSICAL | The Gough Duo
Violinist Rachel Gough and her husband, organist Rupert Gough, have performed across the globe, including various European festivals, American national tours, and recently in Moscow and Hong Kong. Rupert Gough will be familiar to local classical-music fans for his contributions to “With Heart and Voice,” which airs on WXXI; Gough is the organist with the…
ALBUM REVIEW: “Between Two Fires”
Goodbye Ronnie “Between Two Fires” Self-release reverbnation.com/goodbyeronnie Is it possible to be profoundly melancholy without the splash of tears? Goodbye Ronnie’s “Between Two Fires” is a moody affair with an affinity for atmosphere and glimmering optimism that covers up the bruises. That’s partially a result of the sonic dichotomy between the ragged male vocals of…
ALBUM REVIEW: “There Are Roots Below”
Auld Lang Syne “There Are Roots Below” Self-release http://auldlangsyne.bandcamp.com It’s simply amazing how, no matter how much gets layered onto Auld Lang Syne’s sound, it becomes more and more minimal. On this 10-song album, the band swirls above a simple chaos like you’d hear on something that has Joe Henry’s hands on it. It’s downright…
SPECIAL EVENT | ASSEMBLE! An Avengers Quiz
Calling all geeks and superhero aficionados: brush up on your favorite Captain America, Incredible Hulk, and Iron Man comic books and films as you prepare for ASSEMBLE!, the Geeks Who Drink’s “Avengers” trivia night. Geeks Who Drink is a Denver-based company that runs more than 440 weekly pub quizzes for 20,000 players in 29 states.…
SPECIAL EVENT | Edible Book Fest
“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.” While Francis Bacon didn’t mean for his words to be taken literally, the International Edible Book Festival turns book “tasting” into a reality. Originally created in honor of the French gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, who wrote the…
Eastman park permit could set precedent
Eastman Business Park needs a state permit to withdraw up to 54 million gallons of water a day from Lake Ontario.
Queer careers
Riley Folds is the founder of a nonprofit organization that prepares LGBTQ college students for life in the work force.
