KOPPS is a three-pronged attack of techno-fection, but it’s not so sugary as to gum up the works in its live show, plethora of catchy singles, or the numerous music videos that capture the band’s intense visual irony.
Frank De Blase
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The F Word: Grandpa Presley
Celebrating what would have been Elvis Presley’s 85th birthday this past week, it’s getting harder and harder to keep up his legacy amid the fried banana and peanut butter sandwiches, and virtually everything from his square movie catalogue.
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ROCKABILLY | Tammi Savoy & The Chris Casello Combo
With a voice like Laverne Baker’s, Chicago-based singer Tammi Savoy’s take on R&B and rock ‘n’ roll sticks to the cleaner side of things. That’s not to say you won’t hear her growl ferocious and purr salacious a time or two, but the real swingin’ diablo is guitarist Chris Casello, who bops, thumps, bangs, and […]
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ROCK | Kids in the Basement
Playing in a band is supposed to be fun. So is going to see a band. Trying to describe a band like Kids in the Basement is fun, too, but a little more complicated. These guys are a jam band without the annoying bits. It’s a little funky, without throwing a wrench into the whole […]
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The F Word: ‘No one will ever know’
“If All Rochester Wrote the Same Song” is nothing short of brilliant. But it isn’t just about the music. It’s about the community as a whole.
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ROCK | Herb Heinz and the Turbines
It’s hard to simply refer to an artist as “versatile,” especially when there’s no foreseeable limit to that artist’s talent. Take one Herb Heinz, for example. Whether he’s working as a guitar-playing sideman and backing up a musician such as singer-songwriter Teressa Wilcox, or playing straight-ahead rock ‘n ‘roll, reggae, and other styles with his […]
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Album review: ‘Nod’
Nod ‘Nod’ Self-released nodrock.bandcamp.com Nod’s first release way back in 1992, simply titled “Nod,” is a got-damn classic of delirious dissonance. And it’s now available on Spotify and other streaming platforms. Catching Nod live is a bit of a gamble: You don’t know whether you’ll catch the genius of Scrappy Joe (guitar, vocals), Tim Poland […]
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Album review: ‘Warbirds’
CHRMR ‘Warbirds’ Self-released chrmr.bandcamp.com Do you like Tool? Do you dig abstract time signatures that serve the chaos appropriately? Do you like heavy bands that are heavy with a purpose, and aren’t just there as a soundtrack to a botched autopsy? Rochester’s CHRMR keeps it dark and dirty throughout the eight powerful tracks on its […]
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The F Word: Ska brother number one
As a musical style, ska has its limits. Sometimes there’s not enough subtlety perpetrated by its purveyors…but as with Some Ska Band, sometimes there is.
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ROCK | Overhand Sam & Bad Weapon
Attention has been focused in part on guitarist Overhand Sam’s approach to his instrument. But I urge you, that even though he positions his left hand unconventionally over the top of his guitar’s neck, it’s what he emits from his guitar that is extraordinary. Listening to him perform Prince’s “When Doves Cry.” was intense, except […]
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AMERICANA | The Boyd Parker Ambush
Singer-songwriter Nick Young burns hot. You could even say he burns daylight. With The Boyd Parker Ambush, Young mixes up originals with covers that course through the troubadour vein. There’s a lot of weight swinging in there, from Johnny to Townes to Merle, dancing in there along with plenty of Nick. Honest, intense, and bona […]
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The F Word: A night for the blues
CITY music writer Frank De Blase catches some blues rock from the Allman Brothers tribute band Live at the Fillmore and local outfit Steve Grills and the Roadmasters — with mixed results.
