Subsoil “On The Bus” Self-released subsoilmusic.com Hip-hop with real instruments is so much cooler, don’t you think? That’s not to decry the talents of turntablists in the world, but guitars, bass, and drums makes it more real to me. Now Subsoil is about as real as it gets — but it uses turntables, however. They […]
Frank De Blase
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ROCK | Willie Nile
Singer-songwriter Willie Nile perfectly personifies the beauty of NYC with its worn and weary veneer. But unlike other more acoustically rooted troubadours Nile hammers out beautiful little vignettes in the confines of the rock ‘n’ roll song and its three chords and three-minute life span. Thinking man’s rock ‘n’ roll. Willie Nile plays Friday, January […]
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ROOTS-ROCK | Amy LaVere
Like Eddie Cochran said: “She’s somethin’ else.” Singer-songwriter and bassist Amy LaVere has been produced by Jim Dickinson (who produced The Replacements’ “Pleased To Meet Me,” among a billion others); worked at the rock ‘n’ roll Mecca, Memphis’s Sun Studios; slaps the doghouse bass as if it just pinched her ass; and has broken my […]
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ROCK | Handsome Jack
Buffalo’s Handsome Jack give lots of muscle to its 1970’s big rock inspired boogie and soul. It’s essentially a garage band that outgrew the garage as it moved into bigger sounds and grooves. The guitar is boss in this band, driving neck and neck with the rest or the group’s thunderclap and groove. They’ve consistently […]
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Chris Beard bends the blues
Chris Beard — a k a The Prince of the Blues — was shopping around for labels to release what would be the fifth album for the blues rocker. But execs didn’t get it, didn’t want it, or were simply uninterested. Beard was running into walls and out of options. He was frustrated. This was […]
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ONE MAN BAND | The Suitcase Junket
Now this is the shit I’m talking about, Jack. The Suitcase Junket is a lo-fi, low-tuned, low-down blast of end-times folk blues. It’s crude; it’s magnificent. With a stage set-up that resembles a junkyard foley stage or Fred Sanford’s living room, The Suitcase Junket — one man band leader Matt Lorenz — incants and intones […]
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ALBUM REVIEW: “Together We Stand Alone”
Rise From Autumn “Together We Stand Alone” Self-released risefromautumnband.com Here’s another one of those tres cool, heavy projects we’ve come to expect and respect from Lockport producer Doug White at Watchmen Studios. This time around it’s the fearsome foursome from Buffalo, Rise From Autumn, and its new EP, “Together We Stand Alone.” This is a […]
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ALBUM REVIEW: “Dirt”
Lucid “Dirt” Self-released rulucid.bandcamp.com Straight outta Plattsburg, Jack, (that’s in the Adirondacks for you and me) comes the casual, laidback groove of Lucid on its second studio outing, “Dirt.” The album kicks in with “Cuerpo,” its groove hinting at the Allmans, before sliding into the accelerated funk of “Black Smoke.” The band shows it isn’t […]
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A transgender musician uses her art to help reinvent herself
At any given time, Cora Treoir Duncan has no less than 100 CDs cluttering her car. She’s a voracious music fan devouring anything from The Byrds and The Bee Gees to Neko Case. She is a longtime musician as well. And whenever the discussion revolves around music — found in piles in the backseat or […]
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ROCK | Echohead
With just a hint of 90’s throwback gloss, Echohead’s sound is big, I tell ya. Unlike other multi-dimensional artists, this band’s swirling psychedelia display doesn’t need a seat belt, so the listener can count on a full-blown free fall. Haunting and sweet, but not at all saccharine. Echohead will perform with Periodic Table of Elephants, […]
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SINGER-SONGWRITER | Songwriters in the Round
Sure you can dig the voice and the instrumental dexterity, but if the song’s not there … Café Veritas’ Songwriters in the Round series shares this mondo importante philosophy with three top local songwriters: Alyssa Trahan who is now splitting her time between the Flower City and Nash Vegas; Le Roy’s Justin Williams (Morgan Twins’ […]
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REGGAE | Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad
Floating between the unlikely goal posts of roots-reggae and roots-rock is Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad’s deep, deep in the pocket (we’re talking way down deep, with the lint, pennies, and Tic Tacs) groove. When it comes to the one drop, no one is tighter. When it comes to these hometown heroes, tackling country, the […]
