The Eastman Gamelan is exactly the kind of endeavor that Rochester should be crowing about. It’s an example of true multiculturalism: people from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds coming together to enjoy the beauty of a little-known culture. It’s cooperative, not about competition or big egos. Though the Eastman Gamelan is affiliated with an […]
Music Features
Posted inMusic
Fun with music
Paul Hofmann is on a mission. He wants to prove that musical creativity is not reserved for a small group of geniuses. In his Community Education classes at the Eastman School of Music, Hofmann’s students enter with a wide variety of musical backgrounds. But, before long, all of them are sitting at the piano […]
Posted inMusic
A conversation with Wammo
The solo Spanker on his new record, rock ‘n’ roll, and how a certain rock star ripped him off. Dig Wammo. He’s one subversive, pot-smoking, beat poet, trouble-makin’ S.O.B. He’s a rocker, a roller. Wammo is a man for our time. From the arguments he starts with strangers in bars, to the poetry he slams, […]
Posted inMusic
Doors opened
Life is full of contradictions, so the saying goes. Yet art teaches us that what appears certain actually might be contradictory, and what appears contradictory might be resolved through a change of perspective. If life may imitate art as much as art imitates life, let us hope that our world leaders can resolve the contradictions […]
Posted inMusic
Murder of one
Celebrated for creating and single-handedly keeping rough ‘n’ tumble rock music alive with The Black Crowes, singer Chris Robinson has begun a new chapter without his bluesy, black bird buddies. Robinson recently released New Earth Mud, a laid-back, evocative piece that burns with his trademark, soulful wail, while showcasing slightly deeper lyrical introspection and earthier […]
Posted inMusic
Riding the hydra
One thing James Carter cannot be accused of is traveling light. When he visits Penfield High School for two concerts this weekend, he’ll be bringing along four or five of his saxophones. In fact, hearing him on soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, and bass saxophone, not to mention sopranino and the rare F-mezzo, you might […]
Posted inMusic
Humor and malice and Henry
A 21st-century Renaissance man, Henry Rollins is a vehement voice for our slightly disenfranchised generation through his writings, ruminations, heavy music, and spoken-word performances. He seems to have all 10 fingers each in a different pie, yet still manages to maintain focus, asking hard questions and providing genuine answers with anecdotes and insight. Rollins pulls […]
Posted inMusic
Rape me
It is a little weird, when you think about it, how we ignore people’s privacy when they’re dead. Anything they might have said or wished concerning their legacy gets overlooked, as if the living know better what to do with the deceased’s mental remains than they did. When Kafka was on his deathbed, he asked […]
Posted inMusic
A fan is born… again
The lights went down. The crowd roared. And I felt the same rush I’d experienced nearly 17 years ago, when I first saw legendary rockers The Blasters — a band that was instrumental in my career choice (music) and my demise. The Blasters’ original lineup is back on tour — Phil and Dave Alvin, […]
Posted inMusic
Vocal ease
As a teenager, Karrin Allyson listened to all the usual suspects: Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon, Carole King, Aretha Franklin. She sang folk music and joined an all-female rock band called Tomboy. Then she heard Nancy Wilson. “When I finally discovered jazz it seemed to encompass all that I was really interested in doing,” […]
Posted inMusic
On the record with The Asylum Street Spankers
It’s Dixieland. It’s Tin Pan Alley jazz and it’s the blues. It’s lonesome, Dylan-esque, ragtime wallowing in the bluegrass. It’s Sunday morning redemption from Saturday night’s temptation. It’s truly inspired and lyrically insane. Listen: “I’ll read Bukowski in the gutter With a hooker on each arm And a wine bottle up my […]
