We could all just call it a day and go home if we labeled Chet Catallo simply as a “guitar player.” And though that’s how the man considers himself, it would be a disservice to the Gibson-endorsed, multi-Grammy Award nominee and his history, his pedigree, and his six-string savvy. This year marks 31 years for […]
Rochester music
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McKinley James plays beyond his years
The joint was packed and jumping. It was shoulder to shoulder on a hot Rochester night when McKinley James took the Harro East Ballroom stage. The crowd came on like a groundswell. There was nothing standing between James and the nearly 1,000 voracious spectators except for his red guitar. He had missed freshman orientation at […]
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KOPPS musicians share their music-making magic
Music that possesses an electronic component can still be organic; it’s just rooted on the receiving end as opposed to the launch site. Let’s simplify: Though it has some synthetic root, electronic music still gets human (organic) asses in motion. KOPPS is one of those groups that create within this hard to classify hybrid. Call […]
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Stunt rock
Not everyone sets out to be a rock star. “I always wanted to be a stuntman,” Austin Lake says. “Evel Knievel had his own record. And I thought it was a good publicity stunt to put out your own record. And now I’m hooked on this music thing. I realized I had some stuff I […]
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Everything galore
The mid-90’s music scene in Rochester was a blur: a whirling cascade of bands and clubs packed with fans, their iPhone-less hands in the air. Back then, a phone call — on a plain phone — cost a quarter. And it seems that the technology developed to promote bands wound up being their undoing. But […]
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Joywave headlines its way home
If new wave were made of something more substantial, less-plastic, then perhaps you could call Joywave a new wave band. But with its layered pulse and drive as well as its lofty vocals over a lush electronic bed, this Rochester-gone-big-time band transcends the quick answer and the lazy pigeonhole. In its relatively short history (est. […]
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Let there be light and music
When Dave Rivello takes the Kilbourn Hall stage to conduct a new multimedia piece in celebration of the International Year of Light, audience members will not suspect that the work was written in the dark of night. “My best hours have always been from 11 p.m. to 4 or 5 a.m.,” says Rivello, professor of […]
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Crossing the edge
Edge of Jupiter’s first show was opening for Wrist Rocket in 1999. Its last show was in Boston in 2013; after a solid run, Guy Higgins, the band’s leader, had put the Edge of Jupiter to rest. However, a little over a year ago, Higgins went in to the studio to demo ideas with Chris […]
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Ambassadors to the rabbit hole
Sometimes a band gets caught up in its own secular spirituality and winds up crowding the vibe. It’s a delicate balance between message and music. Syracuse’s Sophistafunk puts forth a heavy groove that rivals pants-less fun, but there is also a seriousness in the minimalist attack, a sense of responsibility for the privilege of […]
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Panic pop
To really test a song’s credibility and worth all you need to do is unplug it. Take away the electricity, the layering, the studio magic, just strip it down to its bones and see if it still breathes. See if it survives the evisceration; if it still sounds good. Then, chances are it’s a good […]
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The Son also rises
A four-day festival celebrates the life and legacy of blues legend Eddie “Son” House The story of bluesman Eddie “Son” House — who once called Rochester home — is that of a 20th-century Moses. House spent years wandering the desert of obscurity, leading others into a promised land of recognition and cultural popularity that he […]
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Fun-kaay
Keyboard extraordinaire Tony Gallicchio was minding his own business, playing the funk with his band Funknut, when an opportunity arose. The Rochester-based reggae super group Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad was looking for a replacement keyboard player. Gallicchio took a shot and landed the gig. The thick, funkified sound that he brought got tempered with the […]
