Mikey James is worn out, but not burned out. He’s jaded, but not cynical. He’s stripped his latest project, Admirers, down to those he can trust to handle the music the way he hears music and creates it. Admirers is a one–man band. It’s James solamente. Though he hires sidemen for live shows, all the […]
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Posted inMusic
Ed Roland
Collective Soul is a rock ‘n’ roll constant in the hallowed electric church. It’s a mondo-hit-making machine that bypasses the pop vacuum with credible rock, hooks, and substance. This year marks 20 years of career highs and lows and a string of undeniable hits for the Atlanta-based outfit. And as a warm up for the […]
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ALBUM REVIEW: “Desperate Times, Desperate Measures”
Nasty Habit “Desperate Times, Desperate Measures” Self-released Nastyhabitkills.com Nasty Habit surprises with “Desperate Times, Desperate Measures,” the band’s second release. Its five fantastic songs of classic hard-rock/metal positively rocks, soars, and boogies. The band’s earlier breakneck abandon was cool to hear — and watch — but if it escalated any further, chances are there was […]
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The Empty Hearts
Andy Babiuk just wanted to have fun. But after a three decade run with influential garage giants The Chesterfield Kings, some of the fun had checked out. He felt beat up, beat down, wore out. “I’d been doing the Chesterfield Kings for 30-plus years,” Babiuk says. “And it was getting to be a lot of […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Farewell to jazz great Jimmy Scott
With the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival getting under way this week, it’s fitting to acknowledge one of the greatest jazz vocalists of the 20th century, Jimmy Scott. He was hardly a household name, but he should have been. Scott, who died last week at age 88, was small in physical stature, but is often […]
Posted inSpecial Sections
MUSIC: Sing, sing a song
Its title derived from mashing up the Japanese words “kara” (meaning empty) and “okesutora” (meaning orchestra), karaoke has been around for a long time. And some of its roots, believe it or not, are American. In fact, one of the oldest examples has ties to good ol’ Rochester. From 1961 to 1966, NBC carried a […]
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Call for Musicians: CITY’s Best Busker Contest
LOCAL MUSICIANS WANTED for CITY Newspaper’s 5th Annual BEST BUSKER CONTEST Thursday, May 7, 2015 To participate, musicians must be: • Solo • Unamplified • Based in Rochester • 18 years of age or older • Registered with CITY Newspaper in advance (sorry,no walk-ups) Prizes will be awarded to the top three winners of […]
Posted inCulture
Fringe Fest 2013 Reviews: Mikaela Davis
I’m right almost all of the time; just ask me. I’m wrong plenty, too; just ask my wife. But I know I’m right in saying Mikaela Davis is going to be a big sensation from this jerkwater burg as soon as she quits wasting time at SUNY Potsdam and hits the road. Davis and her […]
Posted inCulture
Fringe Fest 2013 Reviews: “Heart and Soul,” “Sun Boxes,” Fringe Fingers, “Spirits Within”
For me the final day of Fringe 2013 started at Writers & Books for “Heart and Soul: Medicine and Life.” This spoken-word program featured poetry and short stories written by five health professionals: family physician Pebble M. Kranz, family medicine resident Natercia Rodrigues, family therapist Tziporah Rosenberg, resident family physician Francesca Decker, and family physician […]
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Fringe Fest 2013 Reviews: Nosferatu Bemshi!
A hidden, mysterious voice calling out for blood and bones.A dark figure with long claws reaching out on screen.An explosion of drum beats. The rapid-fire lyricism of the guitar. Chills. My last show of this year’s Fringe Fest took me to Writers & Books Friday night for the multidisciplinary showing of NosferatuBemshi! Part film, part […]
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Fringe Fest 2013 Reviews: Michael Burritt and Friends
I’ve seen a few percussion shows in my day, and often they are long and drawn-out affairs, featuring a lot of atonal contemporary music designed to test the limits of the audience’s attention span. Sometimes the pieces can be downright bizarre. I recall one show that I saw that featured the rhythmic shattering of glass […]
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Fringe Fest 2013: Merged: A Dance Concert, Dangerous Signs, Bending and Breaking
Merged: A Dance Concert, taking place at the Geva Nextstage, features the work of two locally based but nationally renowned choreographers. Heather Roffe is an assistant professor of dance at Nazareth College, while James Hansen is an associate professor and the undergraduate program director of the Department of Dance at The College at Brockport. This […]
