Straight out of Quebec, Bloodshot Bill is a howlin’, snarlin’, croonin’ great ball of fire. As a frenetic and frantic one-man-band, the Montreal madman captures the essence of primitive rock ‘n’ roll in between hiccups and some vicious slapback. Beneath an oil-slicked ducktail that would make an Exxon executive blush, Bloodshot Bill intones salaciously, evoking […]
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Tom Hanney schools us on the harmonica
Tom Hanney and his harmonica prowl the stage and the classroom with a cool nonchalance. As a member of several bands — The White Hots jazz combo, acoustic outfit The Fog, and rock ‘n’ rollers Open G — as well as a senior lecturer at RIT, Hanney has developed a fascination for the blues harp, […]
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Old and new collide in Dangerbyrd’s garage rock
If we lived in a perfect world, bands like Dangerbyrd would be the perfect bands. If we lived in an imperfect world, bands like Dangerbyrd would still be the perfect bands. The Rochester-based quartet plays without a shred of phony grandeur or self-imposed elegance. Dangerbyrd is down and dirty and a clever musical synthesis of […]
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A farewell to the retiring Jack Allen
Jack Allen’s daughter, Linda, cautioned me before I sat down with her father. “He hasn’t picked up his horn for over a year now,” she said about the venerable big band leader and trumpeter. Well, apparently no one told Jack. I handed him his horn as a possible photo opportunity, he put it to his […]
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Idina Menzel navigates the stage
Tony Award-winner Idina Menzel is a little bit of everything. She’s a Broadway star (“Rent,” Wicked”), TV actor (“Beaches,” “Glee”), and she’s the one belting out “Let It Go” from Disney’s “Frozen.” At the root of Menzel’s drive is her amazing, sky-busting voice. Menzel is bringing it to the CMAC stage to amaze and delight […]
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Ben Morey gets help climbing ‘Mt. Doom’
Ben Morey listens to the news when he writes music. That would explain the clever pessimism running through the song “Been Gone,” from his epic album “Mt. Doom,” just released on June 30 through City of Quality Records and Dadstache Records: “I don’t shudder when I read the news / You know nobody in the […]
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Speaking English
Chris “Hollywood” English preaches the secular gospel
with The English Project’s new album
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Broken bones, fractured soul
Singer Paul Janeway’s unassuming mug belies the soul monster behind it. He sings like he’s having a borderline fit, a Pentecostal tantrum. He moves about the bandstand like he’s got ants in his pants — fire ants. His band, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, is a powerhouse that hails from Birmingham, Alabama, and rocks […]
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The ebb and flow of The Flood
The Flood is a subtle blend of roots styles and genres that make up a multi-layered sound. It’s personal and specific to this Rochester quartet, yet they don’t know what to call it. Keyboardist Josh Massicot punts. “Americana,” he says without thinking twice. “Well, we’re calling it Americana because we don’t know what else to […]
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Ghosts in the machine
Born partly out of necessity and a willingness to embrace the unconventional, Matt O’Brian and the Great Blue Herons is rapidly turning into an actual band. I know, I know; it happens all the time: musicians get together, have a concept, figure out who will play what, and get a gig to ride the lightning […]
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Tenor of the times
When David Murray was growing up in Berkeley in the late 1960’s, the Bay Area was a fertile place for music. Groups like Sly and the Family Stone and The Whispers were emerging from the region, and Murray’s own home was overflowing with melodies. His mother was a pianist and music director at the family’s […]
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Nobody’s marigold has the benefit of a generation gap
Musicians Roy Stein and April Laragy have been rolling around the Rochester rock scene for years, making noise in several impactful bands. Stein was the drummer in the brooding new wave act New Math in the late 1970’s and The Jet Black Berries in the early 1980’s. Together Stein and Laragy played in the accordion […]
